Embryonic personhood

The Alabama Supreme Court (6 men, 2 women, all white Republicans) voted 7-1 to effectively extend personhood rights to cryogenically stored fertilized embryos, claiming “sanctity of life” and “Biblical priority” over law. This is arrogant, hypocritical, theocratic, and punitive.

The embryos in question consist of 4-8 undifferentiated cells, extras that resulted from In Virto Fertilization (IVF) techniques, a process which helps people give birth. The ruling makes the disposal of these cells a potential crime, threatening jail time as a result, and has halted all IVF activity in Alabama, with repercussions in other states under Republican domination.

Put aside the issue that IVF embryos require continued artificial support to live, or that 8 celled embryos in utero require a healthy woman to survive, or that 70 percent of all such embryos are regularly expelled by the body before birth. The White Christian Nationalist movement, which must be contrasted to all those who actually embrace the spirit of Christ, preach the soul of a person begins with fertilization, and must be protected by law, without regard for the desires of the mother.

I appreciate honoring the sanctity of life, but it is arrogant to include only humans, or in this case, frozen undeveloped embryos. If we are going to protect artificially supported cells, why not take equal care of all pregnant women and their families? Why not extend such concerns to the larger living planet? Einstein said “either everything is sacred or nothing is.” Sanctity of life for unborn cells, without equal regard for all life, is just punitive.

For example, Republican policies increase childhood malnutrition by cutting food aid for poor children, remove laws limiting child labor, and cut affordable medical care. It is clear that they are concerned about controlling what happens in a woman's body up to the point of birth, and then they don't care. This is just another skirmish in the Republican war on women, transforming democracy to Biblical theocracy. 80 percent of Americans support access to IVF, including a vast majority of Christians, making it another unpopular position for the Republican party in a presidential election year.

But let's take this to logically absurd conclusions. If a fertilized cell is really a person, do they count in the census? Can a family get another childhood tax deduction? Will all miscarriages be investigated for manslaughter? May pregnant women use the carpool lane? Does a storage facility have to meet child care regulations on staffing and bathrooms? When a frozen embryo is stored over 5 years, does it have to go to school? If it is over 18 years old, can it vote? Must it be registered for Selective Service?

Growing embryos are especially vulnerable to mutagens, chemicals that adversely affect DNA, and can cause biological defects or death. There are over 100,000 industrial chemicals in wide spread use today, and over 12,000 chemicals are intentionally added to food. Yet very few have been tested for mutagenic impact, because of the expense.

Plastic breaks down into long lasting microplastics particles, which tend to accumulate mutagenetic chemicals, and are now found everywhere on the planet, even in rainwater. Microplastic is found in the entire body from the brain to mother's milk. Food with high fat and protein content have been shown to be mutagenic. High temperature cooking of meat, such as grilling, produces mutagenetic compounds. Consumption of tobacco, alcohol, caffeine, or diet sodas have shown mutagenetic effects.

If embryonic personhood becomes widely accepted law, every company that produces these items, or businesses that distribute or serve these items, is at risk of being sued for attempted assault or manslaughter. Stress can also be mutagenic. Anyone causing a women of childbearing age undue stress would also be at risk. Furthermore, any pregnant woman consuming the above items, even months in advance of conception, would be at legal risk as well.

This would give rise to an oppressive theocratic authoritarian state that monitors every action of women of childbearing age, to insure the “sanctity of life” of any potential unborn. The cost of all this “protective” monitoring would have to be borne by the state, or it would be complicit through negligence. This would eventually bankrupt the entire economy, in order to insure the “sanctity of life” of the unborn.

This insanity is today's Republican party. Let's avoid this. We have real problems to address, and need actual leaders, not punitive religious zealots.