Judge Jeffrey Lawrence II of Cook County, Illinois, ruled that a couple could sue for wrongful death because a fertility clinic destroyed their embryo. He wrote: “Philosophers and theologians may debate, but there is no doubt in the mind of the Illinois Legislature when life begins. It begins at conception.”
Alison Miller and Todd Parrish hoped to conceive a child with help from the Center for Human Reproduction, but the one fertilized egg the couple created was thrown out “in error” by a clinic worker.Friday, Judge Jeffrey Lawrence II said “a pre-embryo is a ‘human being’ … whether or not it is implanted in its mother’s womb” and the couple is entitled to seek the same compensation awarded to other parents whose children are killed. (Source)
How can this be? If the Illinois legislature deems that life begins at conception, why is legalized child killing on the books? If life begins at conception, then mass murder is occurring every day, isn’t it?
Not according to the law. The couple has a wrongful death claim in the destruction of their “embryo,” not the murder of their baby. Wrongful death is a tort (Damage, injury, or a wrongful act done willfully, negligently, or in circumstances involving strict liability, but not involving breach of contract, for which a civil suit can be brought.). The fertility clinic breached its duty of care to the patients. It was not a criminal act to destroy the embryo, regardless of what Judge Lawrence says about life beginning at conception.
In the eyes of the law, no one in this scenario has committed murder. The “frozen embryo” was a human being for purposes of the Wrongful Death statute. Unfortunately, this decision doesn’t mean what pro-lifers think it means, although it will likely have implications in the stem cell debate.
Regular readers know how I feel about child killing, and if calling abortion “child killing” doesn’t clue in readers unfamiliar with my blog, see the child killing category.
I sound uncharacteristically dispassionate about this, I’m sure, and here’s why. Many states have laws against killing unborn babies. The law in Illinois:
The killing of an “unborn child” at any stage of pre-natal development is intentional homicide, voluntary manslaughter, or involuntary manslaughter or reckless homicide. Ill. Comp. Stat. ch. 720, §§5/9-1.2, 5/9-2.1, 5/9-3.2 (1993). Ill. Rev. Stat. ch. 720 § 5/12-3.1.
It’s a crime to kill unborn babies under the statute, but “murder” doesn’t show up anywhere. It would seem that vacuuming a baby out of the mother’s womb is at the very least an “intentional homicide,” if not “voluntary manslaughter.” That’s not what the law has in mind, however. Why?
Here’s my assessment: An unborn baby is human only if the mother wants him. If she doesn’t, at any stage up to the legal limit of 32 weeks, she can have the child killed in her womb and get on with living. From 20-32 weeks, “partial birth abortion” is available. I won’t make you ill by describing the “procedure” here.
(Hat tip: Prolife Blogs, which has links to the story and other bloggers.)
Read more about tort law. Other sources: CNN — “The Most Busted Name in the Business,” ABC News, Yahoo! News…
This is the first of two non-Eason Jordan posts in the past few days, and I’m sorry that it’s somewhat pessimistic. Perhaps the next one will be uplifting. In the meantime, read the other non-Eason Jordan post.
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