MATTERS OF LIFE AND DEATH Embryo in clinic ruled a 'human' Judge: Mistaken disposal of fertilized egg meets law's criteria for 'wrongful death' -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Posted: February 6, 2005 1:00 a.m. Eastern
A Chicago judge has ruled that an embryo mistakenly discarded by an Illinois fertility clinic was a 'human' and its parents can sue under the state's wrongful death law.
Circuit Court Judge Jeffrey Lawrence ruled "a pre-embryo is a 'human being' within the ... Wrongful Death Act and that a claim lies for its wrongful destruction whether or not it is implanted in its mother's womb."
