Two Alabama in vitro fertilization (IVF) clinics last week asked the Supreme Court to review a state court decision that found frozen embryos to be children.

The Alabama Supreme Court ruled in February that frozen embryos are considered legal children under the state's wrongful death law, allowing a couple to file a wrongful death lawsuit after their embryos were allegedly destroyed by a patient at the hospital where they were being stored. Plea The clinic, which filed the lawsuit on August 1, argued that the ruling violated their due process rights to “fair notice” that their actions could lead to prosecution, and that the court did not determine whether the couple had standing to sue.

“This unprecedented decision (and the liability it creates) violates the fundamental due process obligation that individuals be fairly notified that their conduct is legally prohibited before being sentenced, so that they can act in accordance with clear legal instructions,” the petition states. “Worse yet, despite petitioners' repeated pleas, the Alabama Supreme Court's decision lacks any evaluation of whether the respondents who benefited from the medical procedures for which they now seek damages have sufficient standing to litigate this issue on their own behalf and on behalf of the people of Alabama who are now trapped in a legal system that gives them no voice, no compensation and no hearing.”