Alabama AG says he won't prosecute IVF families, providers

Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall does not intend to prosecute in vitro fertilization providers or families in the wake of a state Supreme Court ruling that embryos should be considered children -- a decision that has thrown the whole process into chaos.

"Attorney General Marshall has no intention of using the recent Alabama Supreme Court decision as a basis for prosecuting IVF families or providers," Katherin Robertson, chief counsel in the Alabama Attorney General's Office, said in a statement.

At least three providers have stopped IVF procedures in the wake of the ruling out of concern that mishandling of embryos, even if unintentional, could lead to civil or even criminal lawsuits.

In an unprecedented decision, the state's highest court ruled that "unborn children are 'children' ... without exception based on developmental stage, physical location, or any other ancillary characteristics."

Alabama Chief Justice Tom Parker quoted the Bible in a concurring opinion, citing the sanctity of unborn life.

"Human life cannot be wrongfully destroyed without incurring the wrath of a holy God, who views the destruction of His image as an affront to Himself," Parker wrote in the decision.

The ruling was part of a civil lawsuit in which someone wandered into a fertility clinic and dropped embryos belonging to several couples. The couples filed wrongful death suits against the facility, but a lower court threw out the suits. The state Supreme Court then reversed the decision, setting a new precedent that embryos are the same as children.

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.