Future Retirement Success
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Investing
  • Stocks
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Investing
  • Stocks

Future Retirement Success

Politics

Virginia judge uses slavery-era law to argue human embryos can be considered property

by March 11, 2023
March 11, 2023
Virginia judge uses slavery-era law to argue human embryos can be considered property

A Virginia judge determined that frozen human embryos are legally considered property, using a 19th century law regarding the treatment of slaves as the legal reasoning for his decision.

A preliminary opinion issued last month by Fairfax County Circuit Court Judge Richard Gardiner is under scrutiny from lawyers who believe the judge wrongfully justified his decision based on measures from Virginia’s history when it was legally permissible to own human beings.

The ruling from Gardiner, a district court judge for the 19th Judicial District of Virginia, came amid a dispute between a divorced man and woman in which the ex-wife wants to use two frozen embryos the couple created when they were married to conceive another child.

‘It’s repulsive and it’s morally repugnant,’ Susan Crockin, a lawyer and scholar at Georgetown University’s Kennedy Institute of Ethics and an expert in reproductive technology law, told The Associated Press of the ruling.

Gardiner’s decision is not final as he has not yet ruled on other arguments in the case involving Honeyhline and Jason Heidemann, a divorced couple fighting over two frozen embryos that remain in storage.

Honeyhline, 45, wants to use the embryos, but her ex-husband Jason objects.

Initially, Gardiner sided with Jason. The law at the heart of the case governs how to divide ‘goods and chattels.’ The judge ruled that because embryos could not be bought or sold, they couldn’t be considered as such and therefore Honeyhline had no recourse under that law to claim custody of them.

But after the ex-wife’s lawyer, Adam Kronfeld, asked the judge to reconsider, Gardiner conducted a deep dive into the history of the law. He found that before the Civil War, it also applied to slaves. The judge then researched old rulings that governed custody disputes involving slaves, and said he found parallels that forced him to reconsider whether the law should apply to embryos.

In a separate part of his opinion, Gardiner also said he erred when he initially concluded that human embryos cannot be sold.

‘As there is no prohibition on the sale of human embryos, they may be valued and sold, and thus may be considered ‘goods or chattels,” he wrote.

Crockin said she’s not aware of any other judge in the U.S. who has concluded that human embryos can be bought and sold. She said the trend, if anything, has been to recognize that embryos have to be treated in a more nuanced way than as mere property.

Neither of the Heidemanns’ lawyers ever raised the slavery issue. They did raise other arguments in support of their cases, however.

Jason’s lawyers said allowing his ex-wife to implant the embryos they created when they were married ‘would force Mr. Heidemann to procreate against his wishes and therefore violate his constitutional right to procreational autonomy.’

Honeyhline’s lawyer argued that her right to the embryos outweighs her ex-husband’s objections, partly because he would have no legal obligations to be their parent and partly because she has no other options to conceive biological children after undergoing cancer treatments that made her infertile.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Kyle Morris covers politics for Fox News. Story tips can be sent to kyle.morris@fox.com and on Twitter: @RealKyleMorris.

This post appeared first on FOX NEWS
0
FacebookTwitterGoogle +Pinterest
previous post
Daylight Saving Time: There oughta be a law
next post
Trend Signals and Trailing Stop Examples using XLF and SOXX

You may also like

Biden issues second AI action during final week...

January 14, 2025

Bipartisan lawmakers urge Biden to declare July as...

June 28, 2024

MORNING GLORY: President Trump has just issued an...

January 23, 2025

Texas Rep. Dan Crenshaw blasts anti-McCarthy Republicans: ‘tired...

January 5, 2023

“I Do Not Give a F*ck What Happens...

November 2, 2022

2020 debate claims are coming back to haunt...

November 2, 2023

Biden admin seeks to lock up critical minerals...

September 13, 2023

Trump’s executive order surge: The unprecedented use of...

April 28, 2025

BREAKING: Libs of TikTok Suspended on Twitter —...

September 28, 2022

Trump team’s Signal snafu sparks debate over secure...

March 26, 2025

    Get free access to all of the retirement secrets and income strategies from our experts! or Join The Exclusive Subscription Today And Get the Premium Articles Acess for Free

    By opting in you agree to receive emails from us and our affiliates. Your information is secure and your privacy is protected.

    Recent Posts

    • Rubio condemns assassination attempt on Colombian presidential candidate Miguel Uribe

      June 8, 2025
    • Obama WH physician says Biden doc should have performed cognitive test

      June 8, 2025
    • Trump warns of ‘serious consequences’ if Elon Musk funds Democrats

      June 7, 2025
    • Musk jokes about reconsidering stance on Big Beautiful Bill after Schiff’s praise

      June 7, 2025
    • Musk deletes explosive posts about Trump and Epstein files

      June 7, 2025
    • House witness flips script on Dem who ambushed him during hearing with unearthed tweet: ‘Iceberg is ahead’

      June 7, 2025

    Categories

    • Business (8,152)
    • Investing (2,019)
    • Politics (15,570)
    • Stocks (3,136)
    • About us
    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms & Conditions

    Disclaimer: futureretirementsuccess.com, its managers, its employees, and assigns (collectively “The Company”) do not make any guarantee or warranty about what is advertised above. Information provided by this website is for research purposes only and should not be considered as personalized financial advice. The Company is not affiliated with, nor does it receive compensation from, any specific security. The Company is not registered or licensed by any governing body in any jurisdiction to give investing advice or provide investment recommendation. Any investments recommended here should be taken into consideration only after consulting with your investment advisor and after reviewing the prospectus or financial statements of the company.

    Copyright © 2025 futureretirementsuccess.com | All Rights Reserved