Ignoring the obvious ethical and ideological minefields...it feels like this ruling is just begging to be gamed.
What's the legal age of a frozen "child" who is 5, 15, or 25 years "old"? What tax deductions and child-care benefits might he be good for? How about per-student state funding for schools? Can he vote once an "adult"? Own property and enter into financial agreements? Marry? Be charged with crimes?
I was trying to figure out how a frozen embryo could be a criminal... The one thing that came to mind is if it didn't develop when implanted, would it be suicide? For this specific case, could the estate of the destroyed embryos be sued for damages? (a patient handled a chilled container of embryos, causing frostbite to the patient. Is that similar to a driver being in an accident, in that a person was encapsulated in another entity which caused damage). I can't believe we're having to have these kinds of discussions in 2024.
If you start treating the frozen embryo as a legal person, aging normally - then there's everything from skipping school to failure to file tax returns to failure to report for jury duty to ...
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