DESTROYED EMBRYO DEEMED HUMAN (Chicago, IL Court Ruling)

Chicago Sun Times ^ | 2.5.05 | Steve Patterson

[gopwinsin04]

A frozen embryo destroyed in a Chicago fertility clinic was a human being whose parents are entitled to file a wrongful death lawsuit, a Cook County judge rules Friday.

Attorneys on both sides of the abortion issue said it was the first such ruling they have heard of as the country debates whether stem cells derived from embryos can be used in research and medicine.

Alison Miller and Todd Parrish hoped to conceive a child with help from the Center of 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 impanted in its mother's womb' and the couple is entitled to seek the same compensation awarded to other parents whose children are killed. 'Philisophers and theologians may debate,' he wrote, but there is no doubt in the mind of the Illinois legislature when life begins. It begins at conception.'

Coleen Connell, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union in Chicago, said she expected the ruling would be overturned on appeal.

James Costello, who represented the couple said the clinic workers negligence was now at issue goven the ruling. 'The embryo had a unique set of DNA not unlike a child and was just thrown out like a piece of garbage,' he said.

Pro Life Action Leage director Joe Scheidler praised the ruling. 'That is scientifically correct. Life begins at fertilization, not implantation.'

Northwestern Law Professor Dorothy Roberts warned that the ruling may have 'scary' and 'dangerous' implications for the law.

[gopwinsin04]

Thank goodness there are some who will stand for life out there.

[Calpernia]

PRO LIFE PING!!!!

>>>A frozen embryo destroyed in a Chicago fertility clinic was a human being whose parents are entitled to file a wrongful death lawsuit, a Cook County judge rules Friday.<<<

Judge rulled the embryo was a Human Being!!!!

[The Mayor]

Amen, let the Truth come out!

[gopwinsin04]

Time to set a precedent with some case law here..

[Calpernia]

bump!

Bump!

BUMP!

[gopwinsin04]

Mega bump!!

[anonymous_user]

This one passed the all-important "Planned and Wanted" test. It's never been about the fetus.

[gopwinsin04]

You think SCOTUS may bite on this one on an appeal to make a ruling?

[greasepaint]

'thrown out', means exactly what?,
toilet?
city dump?
treat for Spot and Fluffy?

[gopwinsin04]

I think it may have been accidental in this case, or so the film claims..

[drt1]

I would be interested in knowing what the motivations and philosophies of this couple are. If it's just money and a free in-vtro fertilization cycle then settlement is likely in the offing. If, on the other hand, they are committed Pro-Life people then this case will undoubtedly go forward to some final determination on the Humanity of the blastocyst.

I hope the latter but I suspect the former.

[gopwinsin04]

It is satisfying to know that there a some judges who will stand up for life..

[LiteKeeper]

L'Chaim - Survive

[anonymous_user]

You think SCOTUS may bite on this one on an appeal to make a ruling?

I have no idea. (Not an attorney, SCOTUS groupie, etc.) but hopefully someone else here can field that one.

[LauraleeBraswell]

I'm wondering if it was just 1 embryo they made,

if they were commited pro life- then they probably wouldn't be for that in vitro fertilization,

[dirtboy]

Friday, Judge Jeffrey Lawrence II said 'a pre-embryo is a human being..whether or not it is impanted in its mother's womb' and the couple is entitled to seek the same compensation awarded to other parents whose children are killed. 'Philisophers and theologians may debate,' he wrote, but there is no doubt in the mind of the Illinois legislature when life begins. It begins at conception.'

A fascinating ruling on many, many, many levels. Does this mean that the disposal of unwanting in vitreo embryos consitutes murder in the eyes of the State of Illinois? Does this mean that the clinic is subject to criminal charges as well as civil damages? What does this do for abortion laws in Illinois?

[drt1]

Actually, the article states that a number of embryos were attempted and the single embryo was selected, the others being judged inferior in some respect.

It was this single embryo that was then discarded. I still suspect the motives of the couple and wonder if they have gone forward, elsewhere to achieve a desired pregnancy.

[RetroWarrior]

Northwestern Law Professor Dorothy Roberts warned that the ruling may have 'scary' and 'dangerous' implications for the law.

After all, we can't have people being called human!
/sarcasm

[Lionround]

I have a problem with this ruling. If the embryo is a "human being" then that makes it a dependent. If I have frozen, vital, fertilized embryos stored in a clinic, can I then take an income tax deduction for each and every one of them?

Also, do they need special care? Does the clinic have to hire neo-natal intensive care nurses to watch the freezer in case these "human beings" need special care?

There is more to this than meets the eye.

[mrs tiggywinkle]

**I'm wondering if it was just 1 embryo they made, if they were commited pro life- then they probably wouldn't be for that in vitro fertilization, **

Friends of ours are commited Christians and used the in-vitro method of conception. They made the decision and held to the belief that *all* embryos should be implanted. The first time they were able to implant one embryo (because only one was available) which resulted in a healthy birth of their little boy. The second attempt resulted in three embryos and of course all three were implanted. The triplets are now 7 months old. All four children are just beautiful!

My husband and I chose not to go that way. We're very blessed we were successful with an IUI procedure.

[Coleus]

Another reason why the Catholic Church and other faiths are AGAINST this procedure which is contrary to God's family plan.  Just because the technology is there doesn't mean that we have to use it. In addition, there is some empirical relationship between IVF and an increase in Uterine Cancer and other evidence that Children Born from this procedure are not as healthy as other children conceived the natural way.  Adoption is the loving option.

Embryonic stem cells come from an embryo.  An embryo is an individual, genetically-distinct human-being, a baby.  And we cannibals in America harvest these babies for their body parts.    It's sort of like a baby parts factory.  We make them in fertility clinics, about 360 of them found in many towns across America, where parents create a bunch of babies in a test tube, In-Vitro Fertilization, (IVF) implant some,  where some are aborted and if they're lucky one will implant and grow to term while the parents' other children are put on ice, a Gulag of sorts, until the babies are sold to labs where their parts will be used.  There are an estimated 400,000 babies on ice right now in the USA.

This research is legal so long as private and state money is used where NJ and CA are in the process of funding embryonic stem cell research and cloning.   Federal funding is available to only the lines already in use.  It's wrong but it's better than starting new lines of humans for research.   NJ goes further and allows the cloned baby to grow to term where it is legal to kill it after he/she reaches 9 months!  All in the name of Science.

When you read this article, it may be more of a reality for you. 

Tim and Mary artificially conceived 15 children, after their conception their children weren't in a warm 98.6 degree surrounding inside their mother.  NO they  were sent to the Gulag and put on ice for a few weeks.    6 of her CHILDREN were thawed like a piece of steak, and the so-called 3 "viable" were implanted which means the other 3 unviable were thrown in the garbage (aborted by the human hand)? The article didn't say.  She is now pregnant with twins which means the other child didn't make it and was aborted.  So, the 3 unviable thawed children were "aborted" or thrown in the garbage before implantation and the other one of the 3 implanted was aborted from inside the mother.  Notice they didn't say how it happened or what happened  to the embryo/baby.

The article further asks this question, "What should they do with any unused frozen embryos?"  or should the article say what should they do with the 9 children they already have on ice or what the parents should do to the rest of THEIR CHILDREN they created! How are they going to explain or rationalize the facts to their grown children if they ever ask or find out how they were created?  

Well instead of adopting a child we decided to create 15 children, the two of you were lucky enough to grow to term, 3 of your brothers and sisters didn't thaw correctly and had to be discarded like a freezer-burned hamburger and the rest of your 9 brothers and sisters (probably still alive in a lab or freezer) have been sentenced to death where they were sent to a Gulag awaiting to be harvested for their parts all in the name of science in a country were INDIVIDUAL rights, based on biblical principals, were supposed to have been granted by law.

Notice one option is to have the embryos "adopted" by another couple.  That hardly happens, that's why there are 400,000 babies on ice.  

Hey, why didn't Tim and Mary adopt in the first place?  Adoption the loving option, Adoption not Abortion.

Why create 15 human lives where only 2 survived when all they could have done was to adopt a child already born, just waiting for a loving family and home?

Actress Brooke Shields aborted  some of  her very own Children by undergoing 7 IVF Treatments

Adult Stem Cell use, ( an ethical and effective approach), is a process by which stem cells are taken from: umbilical cord blood, bone marrow, fat cells, nasal cells and elsewhere  have been PROVEN successful, some as long as 30 years, in many instances where cancer was cured and spinal cord victims regained the "limited" use  and sensation of their arms and legs.  We should continue to use something that is proven ethical and effective, let your representatives know how you feel.

Zygotes and embryos are people  and so is soilent green, looks like the Charlton Heston sci-fi movie wasn't so far-fetched or fiction for that matter.

Harvesting Fetal Body Parts

“A Catholic person who actually procures an abortion occurs a latae sententiae excommunication.”

 

When Do Human Beings Begin? former NIH bench research biochemist Dianne Irving demonstrates the scientific fact that the lives of human beings--and human persons--begin at conception.
Personhood Begins At Conception Professor Kreeft explains what exactly a "person" is.
Is the Unborn Less Than Human?Dr. Beckwith explains why it does not make sense to argue that a human being is created at implantation, quickening, or birth.
When Does a Human Become a Person? Continuing the previous essay, Dr. Beckwith demonstrates why other functional criteria given for personhood--such as sentience, brain development, and viability--are inadequate. He then refutes the "gradualist" position. Finally, he discusses the positions of various abortion and infanticide advocates like James Rachels, Mary Wollenkott, and Michael Tooley.
Does Life Begin At Implantation? Dr. Beckwith addresses the phenomena of monozygotic twinning, hydatiform moles, choriocarcinoma, blighted ova, cloning, and fertilization wastage, that fail to disprove the position that human life begins at conception.
Scientific and Philosophical Expertise: An Evaluation of the Arguments on Personhood -- Biochemist, Dianne N. Irving, Ph.D argues that positions which assert that early human embryos are not persons are based on inadequate philosophical principles and faulty scientific data.
The Human Rational Soul in the Early Embryo Professor Heaney discusses the various theories of "ensoulment"
A Survey of Arguments for Immediate versus Delayed Animation Thomist Philosopher Scott Sullivan critically analyzes the theory of mediate animation. The Tiniest Humans -- an interview with the renowned geneticist Jerome Lejeune and the father of modern embryology, Sir Albert William Liley

 

 

The Facts of Prenatal Development--Is it a human being?

Fetal Pain  Born Alive! 

When The Unborn Doesn't Go Quietly To His Execution, "Tiny Tim"

This research is legal so long as private and state money is used where NJ and CA are in the process of funding embryonic stem cell research and cloning.   Federal funding is available to only the lines already in use.  It's wrong but it's better than starting new lines of humans for research.   NJ goes further and allows the cloned baby to grow to term where it is legal to kill it after he/she reaches 9 months!  All in the name of Science.

When you read this article, it may be more of a reality for you. 

Tim and Mary artificially conceived 15 children, after their conception their children weren't in a warm 98.6 degree surrounding inside their mother.  NO they  were sent to the Gulag and put on ice for a few weeks.    6 of her CHILDREN were thawed like a piece of steak, and the so-called 3 "viable" were implanted which means the other 3 unviable were thrown in the garbage (aborted by the human hand)? The article didn't say.  She is now pregnant with twins which means the other child didn't make it and was aborted.  So, the 3 unviable thawed children were "aborted" or thrown in the garbage before implantation and the other one of the 3 implanted was aborted from inside the mother.  Notice they didn't say how it happened or what happened  to the embryo/baby.

The article further asks this question, "What should they do with any unused frozen embryos?"  or should the article say what should they do with the 9 children they already have on ice or what the parents should do to the rest of THEIR CHILDREN they created! How are they going to explain or rationalize the facts to their grown children if they ever ask or find out how they were created?  

Well instead of adopting a child we decided to create 15 children, the two of you were lucky enough to grow to term, 3 of your brothers and sisters didn't thaw correctly and had to be discarded like a freezer-burned hamburger and the rest of your 9 brothers and sisters (probably still alive in a lab or freezer) have been sentenced to death where they were sent to a Gulag awaiting to be harvested for their parts all in the name of science in a country were INDIVIDUAL rights, based on biblical principals, were supposed to have been granted by law.

Notice one option is to have the embryos "adopted" by another couple.  That hardly happens, that's why there are 400,000 babies on ice.  

Hey, why didn't Tim and Mary adopt in the first place?  Adoption the loving option, Adoption not Abortion.

Why create 15 human lives where only 2 survived when all they could have done was to adopt a child already born, just waiting for a loving family and home?

Actress Brooke Shields aborted  some of  her very own Children by undergoing 7 IVF Treatments

[gopwinsin04]

Im not sure about Illinois case law, but I may make a trip to our local law library to find out..

[gobucks]

There is a small problem here; the Talmud is one of the reference documents that anchors American Jurisprudence. And the Talmud states categorically that a human life is not human at conception, nor for many days thereafter.

This ruling, unfortunately, will be overturned in short order.

[eastsider]

And the Talmud states categorically that a human life is not human at conception, nor for many days thereafter.

I'm interested in seeing this Talmudic statement. Can you provide a cite?

[gobucks]

"Abortion-related passages in the Hebrew Scriptures & Talmud:

The Babylonian Talmud Yevamot 69b states that: "the embryo is considered to be mere water until the fortieth day." Afterwards, it is considered subhuman until it is born. "

From here,
http://www.religioustolerance.org/jud_abor.htm

[NYer]

This is indeed good news! I hope this judge's ruling holds. NARAL may try to use its powerful 'friends' to have it overturned.

RIGHT TO LIFE
2270 Human life must be respected and protected absolutely from the moment of conception. From the first moment of his existence, a human being must be recognized as having the rights of a person -- among which is the inviolable right of every innocent being to life.
Catechism Catholic Church

Catholic Ping - please freepmail me if you want on/off this list

[Coleus]

A frozen embryo >>>

What happened to the other embryos? On average a woman takes fertility drugs produces about 20 or more eggs, they get fertilized, many children are created, some are put on ice in a Gulag while the others are implanted, usually 3 at a time.

[NYer]

Here's the catch. From your link ...

The general principles of modern-day Judaism are

I don't imagine Orthodox Jews believe that life begins when the baby's head emerges from the birth canal.

[gopwinsin04]

Praise to whom all blessings flow!

[gobucks]

I don't imagine Orthodox Jews believe that life begins when the baby's head emerges from the birth canal. Agreed. No doubt many Orthodox Jews share typcial Christian beliefs regarding when a human is a real person.

But leftists of any religious stripe grasp at stuff like this to justify federal law as currently codified. At least one organized Talmudic Jursiprudence group has been sponsored by current justices on the USSC.

[Centurion2000]

This is a huge precendent.

[Salvation]

This is great news!

[eastsider]

Thanks for the link. The following excerpt is useful:

"Rashi, the great 12th century commentator on the Bible and Talmud, states clearly of the fetus 'lav nefesh hu--it is not a person.' The Talmud contains the expression 'ubar yerech imo--the fetus is as the thigh of its mother,' i.e., the fetus is deemed to be part and parcel of the pregnant woman's body." 1 This is grounded in Exodus 21:22. That biblical passage outlines the Mosaic law in a case where a man is responsible for causing a woman's miscarriage, which kills the fetus If the woman survives, then the perpetrator has to pay a fine to the woman's husband. If the woman dies, then the perpetrator is also killed. This indicates that the fetus has value, but does not have the status of a person.

Here's what Exodus 21:22-25 says (NIV):

If men who are fighting hit a pregnant woman and she gives birth prematurely [e] but there is no serious injury, the offender must be fined whatever the woman's husband demands and the court allows. But if there is serious injury, you are to take life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, burn for burn, wound for wound, bruise for bruise.

Just a few versus earlier, Exodus 21:12-14 states the following:

Anyone who strikes a man and kills him shall surely be put to death. However, if he does not do it intentionally, but God lets it happen, he is to flee to a place I will designate. But if a man schemes and kills another man deliberately, take him away from my altar and put him to death.

Looking first at the accidental death of the unborn child, it would seem that the penalty in both passages is consistent in the sense that the accidental death of a man, born or unborn, is not death.

But looking at the accidental death of the pregnant women, the penalty appears inconsistent: If one kills a man accidentally, the punishment is not death, but if one kills a pregnant woman accidentally, the punishment is death. Curious.

It is also noteworthy that the operative word here is "accidental." Exodus 21:22-25 does not cover the case of intentionally taking the life of the unborn child.

[TenthAmendmentChampion]

Coleus, these are awesome cross references. Thank you for posting them. I will read your long article about Brooke Shields later, but wow did you get kicked around the block on that post!

I have been concerned about frozen embroyos for a long time. We are creating a growing set of problems by encouraging IVF and then throwing away or killing the babies that weren't chosen to be born. It's good to hear this judge's common sense ruling!

If I ever became a Catholic it would be because of the Church's fearless stance opposing abortion. Great work.

[DBeers]

wow!!!!

[EternalVigilance]

Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution

No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the Militia, when in actual service in time of War or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offence to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.

[EternalVigilance]

PING!

[TenthAmendmentChampion]

You should read this:

Power of the Powerless: A Brother's Lesson

All this quality of life discussion is troubling in light of what life really means.

[cpforlife.org]

Please let me know if you want on or off my Pro-Life Ping List.

[MHGinTN]

Absadamnlutely!

[davidosborne]

This should be BREAKING NEWS.. this may be the case to go ALL THE WAY !!!

Passing it on..

[SJackson]

From the persepctive of most Jews destruction of an embryo wouldn’t be fall under prohibitions relating to abortion. Since an in-vitro embryo cannot develop or survive without implantation into the mother, it doesn’t enjoy the protections of a potential human.

[Victoria Delsoul]

Friday, Judge Jeffrey Lawrence II said 'a pre-embryo is a human being... whether or not it is implanted in its mother's womb

Wow, this just blows my mind.

Wonderful news!!!

[Victoria Delsoul]

Post 44 is for you, too.

[Joe Republc]

Is this the first time a court has done this??

Between this and the unborn child protection act, the clear schizophrenia about the humanity of the fetus with respect to the law only grows louder and louder.

-- Joe

[Ohioan from Florida]

Glory hallelujah! Thanks for the ping!

[cpforlife.org]

Thanks Victoria!

LOL-- Now if only Judge Jeffrey Lawrence II could sit down the six stooges on SCOTUS who embrace Roe and read them the riot act! Hopefully this Judge will be tapped by President Bush.

---------------------------------------------

In a 1-14-05 article from Susan Wills, Esq., associate director for education, Secretariat for Pro-Life Activities, U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops:

And no one seriously suggests that Roe be protected because of its legal merit. Since 1973, six Supreme Court justices and scores of legal articles have criticized Roe and Doe for inventing a right to abortion not found in the Constitution and for usurping the right of states and the people to fashion laws that reflect their views on abortion. As a distinguished law professor, Michael S. Paulsen, put it: “Roe is an embarrassment—perhaps the worst work-product the Court has ever produced. … Roe’s reasoning is utterly laughable, a running joke in constitutional law circles.”

http://www.nccbuscc.org/prolife/publicat/lifeissues/011405.htm

[Do not dub me shapka broham]

Finally, something good to come out of Cook County, IL.

It's about time!

-good times, G.J.P.(Jr.)

[Askel5]

=== This one passed the all-important "Planned and Wanted" test. It's never been about the fetus.


Hear hear.

Though you might reconsider your tagline in light of the fact abortion, indeed, is a GOP policy.