Letters to the Editor: In Alabama, is treating a dangerous ectopic pregnancy murder?

To the editor: In their rush to save in-vitro fertilization, Alabama legislators are overlooking a more ominous consequence of declaring an embryo to be a child. (“How the Alabama IVF ruling unmasks the hypocrisy of antiabortion zealots,” Opinion, March 3)

A pregnancy in a fallopian tube can rupture and cause life-threatening bleeding. Obviously, it is best to treat this condition before it ruptures.

But a doctor who does so is committing premeditated murder. Furthermore, the patient is an accessory to the crime.

W. Benson Harer Jr., MD, Los Angeles

The writer is past president of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.

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To the editor: Columnist Robin Abcarian infuriatingly captures Alabama Republicans’ hypocritical reaction to the state Supreme Court decision proclaiming frozen embryos “children.”

Yes, the classism is glaring, as IVF typically serves those with access to tens of thousands of dollars. But there’s something even more troubling.

Tim Melson, Republican chair of the Alabama Senate’s Healthcare Committee, quickly drafted legislation saying that an embryo cannot be considered life “unless and until the fertilized egg is implanted into a woman’s uterus and a viable pregnancy can be medically detected.”

So, an embryo becomes something for the government to regulate only if it impacts a woman’s body and future?

Transparently, the argument that a fetus has the same rights as the person carrying it is not really about the sanctity of life. It’s about controlling women.

Susan Goulding, Seal Beach