An in-vitro fertilization (IVF) lawsuit brought by patients against the Mobile Infirmary Clinic for wrongful death was settled out-of-court recently and dismissed on Wednesday in Mobile County Circuit.
Mobile County Circuit Judge Jill Parrish Phillips dismissed the lawsuit on Wednesday at the request of plaintiffs James LePage, Emily LePage, William Tripp Fonde and Caroline Fonde.
Parrish Dismissal by Caleb Taylor on Scribd
An attorney representing the plaintiffs didn’t immediately return a request for comment on Wednesday.
Lepage Dismissal by Caleb Taylor on Scribd
The lawsuit received national attention in February after the Alabama Supreme Court ruled an embryo created through IVF is a child protected by Alabama’s wrongful death act and the Alabama Constitution. The decision has led to months of media, political, and theological debates across the nation about IVF.
In the case originating from Mobile, LePage v. Mobile Infirmary Clinic, Inc., the Supreme Court held in a 7-2 decision that parents of frozen embryos killed at an IVF clinic when an intruder tampered with an IVF freezer may proceed with a wrongful death lawsuit against the clinic for alleged negligence.
In March, the legislature and Gov. Kay Ivey passed legislation into law providing civil and criminal immunity to IVF clinics for death or damage to embryos in response to the Alabama Supreme Court’s ruling.
The Court also held that the Alabama Constitution's Sanctity of Life Amendment, ratified by Alabama voters and made law in 2018, would require the Court to interpret the law in favor of protecting the unborn. Alabama’s Sanctity of Life Amendment declares in the state Constitution that it is “the public policy of this state to recognize and support the sanctity of unborn life and the rights of unborn children, including the right to life.”
Plaintiffs in a separate but similar IVF lawsuit filed by Raymond Lee Brackett and Sarah Brackett also requested their lawsuit be dismissed on Tuesday. That motion is still pending in Mobile County Circuit Court.
Brackett Dismissal by Caleb Taylor on Scribd
To connect with the author of this story or to comment, email caleb.taylor@1819News.com.
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