Are embryos people? And are there downsides to designer babies?
Earlier this year, Alabama's Supreme Court handed down a controversial decision declaring that frozen embryos should be treated as children, and therefore their destruction treated legally as wrongful deaths, leaving in vitro fertilization (IVF) clinics with a big problem. Less than a month later, the state's Republican governor, Kay Ivey, signed into law a bill protecting access to IVF treatment in the state. As Reason reported at the time, the court ruling had "caused near-immediate chaos, with three IVF providers in the state shutting down operations." Widespread backlash ensued, including from conservatives like Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, who told CNN, "We want to make it easier for people to be able to have babies, not…make it harder….And the IVF process is a way of giving life to even more babies."
