Alabama's Anti-IVF Decision Is A Sign Of Hell To Come

If you’re looking for indicators of creeping fascism in America, look no further.

By Caitlin Schneider, Discourse Blog

Last Friday, the Alabama Supreme Court ruled that frozen embryos are children, and that those who destroy them can be held responsible for wrongful death. The decision is a landmark one. It’s the first of its kind (in the bad way!) and one that (by design!) will have huge and devastating implications for reproductive rights in Alabama (where reproductive rights are already awful!) and for America as a whole.

Normally I might build up to this, but let’s just get where we’re going: The ruling that frozen embryos should have the same rights as a human being is insane—and certainly an insane decision for a state Supreme Court in the United States in the year 2024 to make.

The decision wasn’t regarded as insane, though. It didn’t make anyone question the mental capabilities of its executors, or even get them fired. It was called “unprecedented” and stunning, sure, and it was met with shock, confusion, and outrage. But things that once seemed out of the realm of normal, expected outcomes—things that once seemed insane—are now becoming alarmingly commonplace. These are simply insane times, and the fact that there’s a certain level of acceptance and understanding about that these days is perhaps the most insanity-inducing thing of all.