Cook County Judge Holds That Pre-Embryo Is Human

Here is a bold move by a Cook County, Illinois judge who is allowing a couple whose embryo was accidentally destroyed to sue the fertility clinic responsible. I'm assuming that this will be quickly overturned by the appellate court, though I can hope that is not so easily done. In the war for the hearts and minds of the American people, it seems perhaps to be an attempt to swing the center of the debate farther to the pro-life side by reframing the debate.

Judge Lawrence claims in his opinion that the Illinois legislature has been very clear that an "unborn child is a human being from the time of conception and is, therefore, a legal person." He bases this assertion on the state's Wrongful Death Act which allows suit, though apparently not criminal prosecution for the killing of a fetus in an assault or accident. It's good to see that the pro-life movement's fight for legislation that will protect the unborn as a person is truly having its effect in the courts.