MONTGOMERY — A pair of North Alabama lawmakers have stepped up with legislation in response to last week’s Alabama Supreme Court decision that basically declared embryos as children.
House Minority Leader Anthony Daniels (D-Huntsville) filed a “definition of a child” bill and State Sen. Tim Melson (R-Florence) said he will file a bill to protect in vitro fertilization and clarify when embryos are viable.
Daniels’ bill “would provide that any fertilized human egg or human embryo that exists outside of a human uterus is not considered an unborn child or human being for any purpose under state law.”
Melson’s bill does not consider a human embryo outside a uterus “an unborn child, a minor child, a natural person, or any other term that connotes a human being for any purpose under state law.”
“We all know that conception is a big argument that it’s life,” Melson told the Alabama Reflector. “I won’t argue that point, but it’s not going to form into a life until it’s put into the uterus.
“We’ve advanced so far in medicine that now we’re storing embryos and sperm and eggs for future use … it’s potential life, not actual life.”
Melson also wants to remove any criminal liability relating to disposal of embryos.
” … a woman should not be charged with abandonment or manslaughter if she chooses not to use all of her frozen embryos,” he said. “When a lady is two or three successful pregnancies and these are left over, it’s just time to make sure that they aren’t penalized for success.”
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