The Alabama Supreme court ruled on Friday that embryos, often frozen during in-vitro fertilization processes, are legally considered children. The ruling may limit the availability of IVF treatment in the future, since the legal risk of the procedure is now far greater. The University of Alabama at Birmingham, for example, announced they’d stop IVF fertilization procedures. Judges relied on an 1872 law to the Alabama Constitution–which protects the rights of unborn children–to argue that “extrauterine” embryos counted as unborn children. Practitioners across the state now must decide if freezing embryos is breaking the new law, and hopeful parents must decide if they’re willing to risk criminal charges for fertility decisions and conditions. 

Alabama frozen embryos ruling: What it means for fertility treatments | AP News

Alabama Rules Frozen Embryos Are Children, Raising Questions About Fertility Care - The New York Times

Doctors and patients fearfully proceed with IVF after Alabama court rules embryos are children