Pro-lifers affirm Chicago court's ruling declaring IVF embryo a ‘human being’

Chicago, Ill., Feb 7, 2005 / 22:00 pm

A Chicago court ruled Feb. 4 that an embryo, which was killed in a fertility clinic, was a "human being" and the parents are entitled to sue for wrongful death for the loss of their child, reported LifeSiteNews.

Alison Miller and Todd Parrish sued the Center for Human Reproduction for the loss of their child.

In the ruling, Judge Jeffrey Lawrence II of the Cook County court said: "A pre-embryo is a 'human being' ... whether or not it is implanted in its mother's womb."

Lawrence wrote: "Philosophers and theologians may debate, but there is no doubt in the mind of the Illinois Legislature when life begins. It begins at conception.”

Northwestern University law professor Victor Rosenblum told LifeSiteNews this was the first court decision he had ever heard in favor of the humanity of the embryo.

According to LifeSiteNews, the American Civil Liberties Union said the decision would likely be overturned on appeal.