LePage v. Center for Reproductive Medicine, P.C. (Ala. 2024)

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). The plaintiffs, two couples who had undergone IVF at The Center for Reproductive Medicine and Mobile Infirmary, alleged that negligence in clinic security allowed another patient to access and destroy their cryogenically preserved embryos. The defendants moved to dismiss, arguing that pre-implanted embryos were not “children” under Alabama law. The Court rejected that reasoning, holding that the statutory term “minor child” encompasses all unborn life, including embryos outside the womb. This interpretation effectively recognized frozen embryos as legal persons for purposes of wrongful-death claims. The decision marked a significant shift in Alabama’s reproductive and personhood jurisprudence, extending fetal protections to the earliest stage of human development and raising implications for IVF regulation, reproductive autonomy, and medical liability.

Topics

• Abortion and reproductive health rights

Geographical location

• North America
• United States
• Alabama

Keywords

• in vitro fertilization
• fertility
• fetal viability
• personhood

Year

• 2024

External URL

• LePage v. Center for Reproductive Medicine, P.C. (Ala. 2024)

Court

• Supreme Court of Alabama

Type

• Domestic Case Law

Jurisdiction

• Alabama