In Anonymous v. Anonymous, 469 So. 2d 588 (Ala. 1985), the Supreme Court of Alabama addressed whether parents could obtain court authorization to sterilize their minor daughter, who was fourteen years old and had significant intellectual disabilities. The parents argued that sterilization was necessary to prevent pregnancy, which they believed would endanger her health and well-being.
In Ex parte Alabama Department of Youth Services, 880 So. 2d 393 (Ala. 2003), the Supreme Court of Alabama addressed claims brought by two female minors, Jane Doe 1 and Jane Doe 2, who alleged they were sexually harassed and abused while in the custody of the Department of Youth Services (DYS).
In Ex parte State ex rel. Alabama Policy Institute, 200 So. 3d 495 (Ala. 2015), the Supreme Court of Alabama intervened in the state’s handling of same-sex marriage following federal district court rulings striking down Alabama’s marriage ban.
In Hall v. McBride, 416 So. 2d 986 (Ala. 1982), the Alabama Supreme Court reviewed the constitutionality of gender-specific language in Alabama’s probate statutes.
In Hamilton v. Scott, 97 So. 3d 728 (Ala. 2012), the Supreme Court of Alabama considered whether the state’s wrongful-death statute permitted recovery for the death of a pre-viable fetus.
In Hicks v. State of Alabama, 153 So. 3d 53 (Ala. 2014), the Supreme Court of Alabama affirmed the conviction of a woman charged under the state’s chemical endangerment of a child statute after her newborn tested positive for cocaine. The defendant contended that the legislature had not intended the statute to apply to unborn children and further argued that, if interpreted to include fetuses, the law constituted poor public policy and was unconstitutionally vague.
In the case LePage v. Center for Reproductive Medicine, P.C., 403 So. 3d 747 (Ala. 2024), the Supreme Court of Alabama expanded the reach of the state’s Wrongful Death of a Minor Act to include frozen embryos created through in vitro fertilization (IVF).
