(RNS) — When Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Tom Parker issued his concurring opinion earlier this month in the court’s controversial ruling declaring frozen embryos children, he did so with an unapologetically religious flair.The Feb. 16 ruling — which has resulted in all but halting in vitro fertilization procedures, which can use frozen embryos to help people become pregnant, in the state — drew on anti-abortion language in the Alabama Constitution to conclude embryos created during IVF have the same rights as children.
Parker, amid references to theologians and the Bible, concluded that by declaring frozen embryos children, Alabama was modeling a “theologically based view of the sanctity of life” that insists “human life cannot be wrongfully destroyed without incurring the wrath of a holy God.”
Parker may have presented his policy position as rooted in an authoritative Christian view, but he may be in the minority when it comes to his fellow religious Americans — including Christians.
Alabama Supreme Court Justice Tom Parker speaks on the steps of the state judicial building on April 5, 2006, in Montgomery, Ala. When the court ruled this month that frozen embryos are children, Parker, now the chief justice, made explicit use of Christian theology to justify the court’s decision in his concurrence, where his language echoed the broader anti-abortion movement. (AP Photo/Jamie Martin, File)
While personal views on IVF are harder to assess, there seems to be broad familiarity with the practice among religious groups. When P …
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Parker, amid references to theologians and the Bible, concluded that by declaring frozen embryos children, Alabama was modeling a “theologically based view of the sanctity of life” that insists “human life cannot be wrongfully destroyed without incurring the wrath of a holy God.”
Parker may have presented his policy position as rooted in an authoritative Christian view, but he may be in the minority when it comes to his fellow religious Americans — including Christians.
Alabama Supreme Court Justice Tom Parker speaks on the steps of the state judicial building on April 5, 2006, in Montgomery, Ala. When the court ruled this month that frozen embryos are children, Parker, now the chief justice, made explicit use of Christian theology to justify the court’s decision in his concurrence, where his language echoed the broader anti-abortion movement. (AP Photo/Jamie Martin, File)
While personal views on IVF are harder to assess, there seems to be broad familiarity with the practice among religious groups. When P …nnDiscussion:nn” ai_name=”RocketNews AI: ” start_sentence=”Can I tell you more about this article?” text_input_placeholder=”Type ‘Yes'”]