Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier has announced that he intends to use the legal tools available to him to shut down all abortion clinics in the Sunshine State. In a conversation with anti-abortion activist Lila Rose, he said he is taking steps to have embryos and fetuses recognized as full legal persons. Uthmeier intends to pursue this in an unexpected way: a ruling in a court dispute over surrogacy is meant to help. A decision in the state attorney general’s favor could have far-reaching consequences not only for abortion but also for in vitro fertilization (IVF).
In the Live Action audio program, the attorney general stressed that Florida’s recently tightened abortion law is not strict enough for him, and that he would like it to be more restrictive. The state bans abortions on most grounds after the sixth week of pregnancy, with certain exceptions provided for in the law.
Asked by the host whether he believes abortion will not be performed in Florida at all in his lifetime, he replied: “I certainly hope so.” “I believe that the truth is on our side and that the truth will prevail,” Uthmeier said.
A key element of his plans is a concept known in the United States as “fetal personhood.” It would give embryos and fetuses a legal status comparable to that of people already born, meaning the legal capacity that is generally granted to a human being at birth. Uthmeier argues that human life should be protected from its “earliest” stage of development.
To advance his position, Uthmeier intends to use a legal dispute being heard in Broward County court. According to the details of the case, two men from France entered into an agreement with a Florida woman who agreed to give birth to a child for them. The woman was assisted by a lawyer, and the case was overseen by a family court.
Although the surrogate did not claim she had been coerced into the procedure, the day after the child was born Florida’s attorney general moved to join the proceedings. He argued that surrogacy itself is unconstitutional because, in his view, it means treating a human being as the object of a transaction.
“If you buy and sell a human being, what is that? That’s slavery. That takes us back to the discussion of emancipation.”
Uthmeier said in the conversation with Rose.
The attorney general intends to use the case to spark a debate about the legal status of embryos, fetuses, or unborn children. If surrogacy were deemed human trafficking and tied to slavery, it would have to be determined at what point the crime occurs, only at birth or earlier, and therefore whether a human being has legal capacity even before birth.
The legal dispute over the legality of surrogacy may not be resolved until it reaches the U.S. Supreme Court. Meanwhile, the child born in connection with the case has already been placed in the care of the “fathers” and has left with them for France.
The case could affect not only abortion but also IVF. During in vitro fertilization, embryos are created, and some of them may be destroyed during the procedure. If the court accepted Uthmeier’s argument, IVF could become illegal under the law.
Editor: JŁ
Source: Słoneczne Radio
