I wish our constitution gave as much protection as the Irish constitution, even if it does have a loophole for frozen embryos.
But think about this -- if a frozen embryo was treated by law as identical to a fetus in a womb, then you could be prosecuted for murder I guess if you made a lab error and killed one of them, or if the power went out and the cryogenics stopped working.
Can we really say that a lab mishap with an embryo is the same as taking action to kill a growing fetus in a womb?
Yes, actually, that's the Catholic position, which is why the Church opposes in vitro fertilization, because it's virtually impossible to do without killing some of the embryos in the process.
This predicament would not have arisen if the couple in question had not turned to an unnatural procedure for giving birth, and had not also gotten divorced. It was already a mess by the time it got to the court. Nevertheless, the decision was wrong. The fetuses are genetically distinct from the mother and father; they are human; and they are alive, although frozen, since only life can bring forth life.
" if a frozen embryo was treated by law as identical..."
...to a human, then after being frozen 21 years, it could legally drink, vote, and drive.
See post #9, it's not really a loophole - it's on shaky ground, but the only way we can reverse the decision is by referenda - otherwise the Irish Supreme Court's decision is final.
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