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Chicago Court Rules Dead IVF Embryo a "Human Being"

Parents entitled to sue for wrongful death of child

CHICAGO, February 7, 2005 (LifeSiteNews.com) - In a case that could shake the in vitro fertilization and abortion industries, a Chicago court has ruled that an embryo that was killed in a fertility clinic was a "human being," and the parents are entitled to sue for wrongful death for the loss of their child.

On Friday, Judge Jeffrey Lawrence II of the Cook County court said, "a pre-embryo is a 'human being' ... whether or not it is implanted in its mother's womb."

In his decision that is likely to be overturned without delay, Judge Lawrence wrote, "Philosophers and theologians may debate, but there is no doubt in the mind of the Illinois Legislature when life begins. It begins at conception."

Predictably, representatives of the militantly pro-abortion American Civil Liberties Union said that the decision will be overturned on appeal. "No appellate court has ever declared a fertilized egg a human being in a wrongful-death suit."

Alison Miller and Todd Parrish, sued the Center for Human Reproduction for the loss, not of an embryo - a thing with the legal status of any other commercial product - but of a child.

The debate over the use of embryos for research continues to create confusion in courts around the world. When in vitro fertilization was introduced, abortion had already been legally accepted nearly everywhere in the western world. The idea that an unborn child was something, rather than someone, led to the acceptance of manufacturing them artificially in labs as commercial products. Made-to-order children have become a multi-billion dollar industry and ethics 'experts' have followed the money and created a comfortable environment both for abortionists and IVF researchers.

Until Friday's decision, no court in the world had dared to suggest that there was any moral problem with creating people in labs and killing, selling or experimenting on the 'spares.' The designation of an embryo as a human being, however short-lived the decision may be, is an indication that the logical fallacy holding the IVF and abortion industries together is starting to crack.

Northwestern University law professor Victor Rosenblum, who is opposed to abortion, said that his was the first time he had heard of a court decision in favour of the humanity of the embryo. "This is the first case I've heard of like this," he said.

LifeSiteNews.com coverage of the strange legal netherworld of IVF:
Washington Supreme Court Orders Death of Human Embryos Against Mother's Will
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2002/jun/02061403.html

Brave New World of IVF: Woman's Legal Appeal For Former Partner's Frozen Sperm
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2003/oct/03103106.html

IVF Child Conceived With Dead Man's Sperm is Ruled by Court to be His Child
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2004/jul/04071606.html

South Africa Top Court Rules Lesbian's IVF Twins 'Legitimate'
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2003/mar/03033108.html

UK Fertility Authority Okays Designer Baby Selection
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2002/feb/02022502.html

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