President Biden on Thursday blasted an Alabama Supreme Court ruling that frozen embryos are considered human.
"Today, in 2024 in America, women are being turned away from emergency rooms and forced to travel hundreds of miles for health care, while doctors fear prosecution for providing an abortion," Biden’s office released in a statement.
The statement went on to say, "And now, a court in Alabama put access to some fertility treatments at risk for families who are desperately trying to get pregnant."
"The disregard for women’s ability to make these decisions for themselves and their families is outrageous and unacceptable."
The Alabama Supreme Court on Tuesday ruled that frozen embryos can be considered children under state law, a decision critics said could have sweeping implications for fertility treatment in the state.
The decision was issued in a pair of wrongful death cases brought by three couples who had frozen embryos destroyed in an accident at a fertility clinic.
The exterior of the Alabama Supreme Court building in Montgomery, Ala., is shown Tuesday, Feb. 20, 2024. The Alabama Supreme Court ruled, Friday, Feb. 16, 2024, that frozen embryos can be considered children under state law, a ruling critics said could have sweeping implications for fertility treatments. (AP Photo/Kim Chandler)
The plaintiffs in the Alabama case had undergone IVF treatments that led to the creation of several embryos, some of which were implanted and resulted in healthy births. The couples had paid to keep others frozen in a storage facility at the Mobile Infirmary Medical Center.
Justices, citing anti-abortion language in the Alabama Constitution, ruled that an 1872 state law allowing parents to sue over the death of a minor child "applies to all unborn children, regardless of their location."
"Unborn children are ‘children’... without exception based on developmental stage, physical location, or any other ancillary characteristics," Justice Jay Mitchell wrote in Friday's majority ruling by the all-Republican court.
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The Alabama Supreme Court decision partly hinged on anti-abortion language added to the Alabama Constitution in 2018, stating it is the "policy of this state to ensure the protection of the rights of the unborn child."
One year ago, abortion rights demonstrators gathered outside the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington, D.C., to protest the overturning of Roe v. Wade. (Photographer: Valerie Plesch/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
States gained control of abortion access in 2022 when the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, effectively ending recognition of a constitutional right to abortion and giving individual states the power to allow, limit, or ban the practice altogether.
"Make no mistake: this is a direct result of the overturning of Roe v. Wade," Biden's office said in the statement.
In light of an Alabama Supreme Court ruling on the death of frozen embryos, President Biden said that he and Vice President Kamala Harris are "fighting" for women's reproductive rights. (Getty Images)
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Biden explained further that he and Vice President Kamala Harris are "fighting" for women's reproductive rights.
"My message is: The Vice President and I are fighting for your rights. We’re fighting for the freedom of women, for families, and for doctors who care for these women. And we won’t stop until we restore the protections of Roe v. Wade in federal law for all women in every state," he said.
Furthermore, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said the Alabama decision reflected the consequences of the Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade and blamed Republican elected officials from blocking access to reproductive and emergency care to women.
The Associated Press and Kelly Laco contributed to this report.
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