评论
打印
The Supreme Court of Alabama has ruled that frozen embryos can be considered children under state law.
阿拉巴马州最高法院裁定，根据州法律，冷冻胚胎可以被视为儿童。
The ruling immediately influenced the way fertility treatment services operate in the southeastern U.S. state.
这项裁决立即影响了这个位于美国东南部的州的生育治疗服务的运作方式。
On Wednesday, the University of Alabama Birmingham Hospital said it paused all fertility treatments while it considers the ruling's significance.
周三，阿拉巴马大学伯明翰医院表示，考虑到这项裁决的重要性，它暂停了所有生育治疗。
The court decision involved two wrongful death cases brought by three couples who had frozen embryos destroyed in an accident at a fertility center.
该法院的裁决涉及三对夫妇提起的两起不当死亡案件，他们的冷冻胚胎在一家生育中心的一次事故中被销毁。
In their decision, the justices noted recent and longstanding parts of the Alabama Constitution.
在他们的裁决中，法官指出了阿拉巴马州宪法中最近和长期存在的部分。
The justices ruled that an 1872 state law permitting parents to bring legal action over the death of a minor child "applies to all unborn children, regardless of their location."
法官裁定，1872年的一项州法律允许父母对未成年子女的死亡提起法律诉讼，“适用于所有未出生的儿童，无论他们在哪里。”
"Unborn children are ‘children' ... without exception based on developmental stage, physical location, or any other...characteristics," Justice Jay Mitchell wrote.
法官杰伊·米切尔写道：“未出生的孩子就是‘孩子’……根据发育阶段、物理位置或任何其他特征，无一例外。”
The high court released the ruling on February 16.
该高等法院于2月16日公布了这一裁决。
Mitchell said the court had ruled earlier that fetuses killed while a woman is pregnant are covered under Alabama's Wrongful Death of a Minor Act.
米切尔表示，该法院早些时候裁定，在女性怀孕期间被杀的胎儿适用于阿拉巴马州的《未成年人非正常死亡法》。
Nothing excludes "extrauterine children from the Act's coverage," he wrote.
他写道，没有任何规定将“宫外儿排除在该法案的覆盖范围之外”。
The ruling is likely to influence fertility treatments and the activity of freezing of embryos, which are fertilized eggs.
这项裁决可能会影响生育治疗和冷冻胚胎。
A court opinion in Virginia last year said that frozen embryos can be considered property.
弗吉尼亚州去年的一份法庭意见称，冷冻胚胎可以被视为财产。
Barbara Collura is chief of RESOLVE: The National Infertility Association, a non-profit group based in Virginia.
芭芭拉·科卢拉是总部设在弗吉尼亚州的非营利性组织美国国家不育症协会的负责人。
Collura told the Associated Press that the ruling raises questions for "in vitro fertilization," or IVF, the method of fertilizing eggs in a laboratory.
科卢拉告诉美联社，这项裁决对体外受精提出了质疑，体外受精是在实验室里使卵子受精的方法。
She said the "ruling is stating that a fertilized egg, which is a clump of cells, is now a person. It really puts into question, the practice of IVF."
她说：“这项裁决表明，一个受精卵是一团细胞，现在是一个人。这确实让人们对体外受精的做法产生了质疑。”
The group called the Alabama high court's decision "terrifying" for people affected by infertility.
该组织称阿拉巴马州高等法院的裁决对不孕患者来说是“可怕的”。
She said the ruling also raises questions for providers of IVF services and for patients.
她说，这项裁决也给体外受精服务的提供者和患者带来了问题。
It is unclear whether they can freeze embryos created during fertility treatment or if patients could ever donate or destroy unused embryos.
目前尚不清楚他们是否可以冷冻在生育治疗期间产生的胚胎，也不清楚患者是否可以捐赠或销毁未使用的胚胎。
Sean Tipton is a spokesman with the American Society for Reproductive Medicine.
肖恩·蒂普顿是美国生殖医学会的发言人。
He said at least one Alabama fertility center was told to stop IVF treatments by the hospital overseeing it since the decision.
他说，自该裁决做出以来，至少有一家阿拉巴马州的生育中心被监督该中心的医院告知停止体外受精治疗。
Dr. Paula Amato is president of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine in Washington D.C.
保拉·阿马托博士是位于华盛顿特区的美国生殖医学学会的主席。
She said: "No health care provider will be willing to provide treatments if those treatments may lead to civil or criminal charges."
她说：“如果这些治疗可能会导致民事或刑事指控，没有医疗服务提供者愿意提供治疗。”
The couples in the Alabama case had undergone IVF treatments that led to the creation of several embryos.
阿拉巴马州案例中的夫妇接受了体外受精治疗，最终产生了几个胚胎。
Some of the embryos were implanted and resulted in healthy births.
一些胚胎被植入体内产生了健康的婴儿。
The couples paid to keep the other embryos frozen in a storage center at the Mobile Infirmary Medical Center.
这些夫妇花钱将其他胚胎冷冻在移动医务医疗中心的一个储存中心。
A patient in 2020 entered the area and removed several embryos, dropping them on the floor and "killing them," the ruling said.
该裁决称，2020年的一名患者进入该地区，取出了一些胚胎，将它们扔在地上，“杀死了它们”。
The justices then ruled that couple's wrongful death legal case could go forward.
法官随后裁定，这对夫妇的不当死亡诉讼可以继续进行。
The clinic and hospital that are defendants in the case could ask the court to reconsider its decision.
作为本案被告的诊所和医院可以要求法院重新考虑其裁决。
One group that opposes abortion, the non-profit Live Action, supported the decision.
一个反对堕胎的非营利性组织Live Action支持这一决定。
"Each person, from the tiniest embryo to an elder nearing the end of his life...deserves and is guaranteed legal protection," said President Lila Rose in a statement.
主席莱拉·罗斯在一份声明中说：“每个人，从最小的胚胎到即将走到生命尽头的老人……都应该得到并保证得到法律保护。”
Justice Greg Cook wrote the only full dissent to the majority opinion.
法官格雷格·库克撰写了针对多数人意见的唯一完全反对意见。
He said the 1872 law did not define "minor child" and the meaning of the term was being extended to cover frozen embryos.
他说，1872年的法律并没有定义“未成年子女”，这个词的含义被扩展到包括冷冻胚胎。
He added the ruling "almost certainly ends the creation of frozen embryos through in vitro fertilization (IVF) in Alabama."
他补充说，这项裁决“几乎可以肯定地终止了阿拉巴马州通过体外受精创造冷冻胚胎的做法。”
The Alabama Supreme Court decision partly depended on language added to the Alabama Constitution in 2018.
阿拉巴马州最高法院的裁决在一定程度上取决于2018年阿拉巴马州宪法中增加的措辞。
It states it is the policy of the "state to ensure the protection of the rights of the unborn child."
它指出，“确保保护未出生婴儿的权利”是国家的政策。
In Alabama, supreme court justices are elected officials who serve six-year terms.
在阿拉巴马州，最高法院法官是民选官员，任期六年。
Currently, all are members of the Republican Party.
目前，他们都是共和党成员。
I'm Dan Novak.
丹·诺瓦克为您播报。
译文为可可英语翻译，未经授权请勿转载！
