The Eight-Cell Person, Religion, and the Legality of In Vitro Fertilization by Robyn E. Blumner

Robyn E. Blumner discusses the Alabama Supreme Court ruling that recognized cryogenically preserved embryos as legal persons under state law, sparking debates on the intersection of religion, law, and science in matters of reproductive rights. It critiques the influence of religious beliefs on legal definitions of personhood and warns of broader implications for scientific literacy, highlighting the ongoing conflicts between religious ideology and scientific understanding in American jurisprudence. Read this article and find accompanying references at: https://skepticalinquirer.org/2024/06/the-eight-cell-person-religion-and-the-legality-of-in-vitro-fertilization/ About the Author: Robyn E. Blumner is president and CEO of the Center for Inquiry and executive director of the Richard Dawkins Foundation for Reason & Science. She is a lawyer who previously held posts as a syndicated columnist and editorial writer at the Tampa Bay Times and as executive director of the ACLU of Florida and ACLU of Utah. Subscribe to Skeptical Inquirer: https://skepticalinquirer.org/subscribe/ Skeptical Inquirer Audio Edition is a production of the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry and the Center for Inquiry.