About Lawsuits is reporting on a recently filed complaint in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of North Carolina by a couple claiming the defendant's product killed an embryo after it was implanted in the mother as part of an IVF procedure. The claim is similar to a number of other claims filed against another company making the same claims. About Lawsuits has the full story here.
You probably remember that last summer a case in Alabama gathered a lot of attention because the court recognized a possible cause of action for wrongful death as a result of the destruction of frozen embryos. I commented on that case here, here, here and here.
Since then, similar cases have been brought against companies that manufacture the substance in which embryos are kept after they are fertilized but before they get implanted in the mother. The case filed in North Carolina is one of those.
In the complaint, the plaintiffs argue that a fertilized embryo is a human life and that, therefore, the defendant (FujiFilm) should be held responsible for the wrongful death of their unborn child.
Interestingly, as reported, the story assumes that conception happens when the egg is fertilized, which happens before the egg is implanted. In other jurisdictions, there is a debate as to whether life begins at that point or whether it begins when the egg is implanted. Because the egg was implanted in the North Carolina case, that question does not appear to be an issue there.
If you are interested in the question of whether courts should recognize a cause of action for wrongful death of embryos, go read the story here. It sounds like there are quite a few pending cases and, therefore, there may be interesting decisions coming in the near future.
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