An explosive device was detonated outside Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall’s office over the weekend as the state continues to grapple with a recent state Supreme Court ruling that frozen embryos will now legally be considered children in the state.
“In the early morning hours of Saturday, February 24, an explosive device was detonated outside the Alabama Attorney General’s office in Montgomery,” Marshall said in a statement released Monday. “Fortunately, no staff or personnel were injured in the explosion.”
The statement continued, “The Alabama Law Enforcement Agency will be leading the investigation and we urge anyone with information to contact them immediately.”
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In a statement shared with PEOPLE, the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency said it was first notified of the suspicious package on Monday.
“On Monday, February 26, at approximately 8:19 a.m., Special Agents with the State Bureau of Investigation (SBI) of the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency (ALEA) received a report of a suspicious package near the intersection of Washington Avenue and South Bainbridge Street in Montgomery,” it said. in the press release. “The suspect package was determined to be an explosive device that was detonated in the early hours of Saturday, February 24.”
The agency confirmed to PEOPLE that no one was injured and that there was no damage to the surrounding property. They added that the investigation is still ongoing.
The Alabama Supreme Court has ruled that frozen embryos are children, jeopardizing the possibilities of IVF
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Alabama Supreme Court Building.
Getty
The incident comes days after the Alabama Supreme Court’s ruling on in vitro fertilization, which immediately halted IVF services in the state.
Amid the fallout from the decision, AG Marshall’s announced it had “no intention” of prosecuting IVF providers or participating families based on state court guidelines.
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The high court’s ruling follows a wrongful-death lawsuit brought by couples whose frozen embryos were destroyed at a fertility clinic in December 2020 when a patient entered the nursery’s cryogenic storage unit and retrieved several embryos.
“The sub-zero temperatures in which the embryos were stored caused the patient’s hand to freeze, causing the patient to drop the embryos on the floor, killing them,” according to the decision released by the Alabama Supreme Court.
In a concurring opinion, Chief Justice Tom Parker quoted from the Bible and referred to his own religious beliefs. “Human life cannot be unjustly destroyed without incurring the wrath of the holy God, who sees the destruction of his image as an insult to himself,” he wrote.
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Critics say the ruling could lead to IVF patients wondering whether they can freeze future embryos or whether they can destroy or donate unused embryos. As uncertainty abounds, at least three clinics in Alabama have already paused IVF treatments in response to the ruling, NBC News reports — including patients who had previously scheduled transfers.
Several proposals in the House and Senate — sponsored by Democrats and Republicans alike — could serve to restore access to IVF in the state, if passed.
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Source: HIS Education