The Alabama supreme court justices behind IVF ruling

On February 16, the Alabama Supreme Court ruled that frozen embryos have the same legal rights as children in a move that immediately led the state’s largest hospital to pause in vitro fertilization (IVF) treatment.

The judgment by nine Republican justices was unanimous in then concluding that “unborn children are children.” This means that the Wrongful Death of a Minor Act applies to “all children, born and unborn, without limitation.” It is standard practice in IVF treatment for multiple embryos to be fertilized, with just one returned to the women’s womb and the others discarded.

As a result, clinics across Alabama put IVF treatments on hold; Gabrielle Goidel, who was just days away from retrieving her embryos after spending $20,000 in the hope of a child, told CNN that she had never “been this stressed in her life.”

A number of Republicans hit out at the ruling, including Donald Trump, by some margin the favorite for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination. He offered strong support for IVF treatment in a post on his Truth Social website.

Newsweek has created a brief summary of the nine Alabama Supreme Court justices who made the controversial ruling.

Chief Justice Tom Parker

Tom Parker was elected as an associate justice to the Alabama Supreme Court in 2004 and became chief justice in 2018.

The Montgomery native studied at Dartmouth College, in Hanover, New Hampshire, before becoming a doctor of law at Vanderbilt University School of Law in Nashville, Tennessee.

Prior to joining the Supreme Court, Parker served as Alabama’s deputy administrative director of courts and also operated as a legal adviser to the chief justice.

Associate Justice Greg Shaw

Greg Shaw joined the Alabama Supreme Court in 2009 and was reelected in 2014, then again in 2020.

Born in Birmingham, Shaw studied at Auburn University, followed by Samford University’s Cumberland School of Law, after which he was admitted to the Alabama State Bar in 1982.

Shaw is married to Dr. Nicole Shaw, and the couple have two sons. They are both members of the Auburn United Methodist Church.

Associate Justice A. Kelli Wise

Alisa Kelli Wise was first elected to the Alabama Supreme Court in 2010 after which she was reelected in 2016 and 2022. Previously, she served as presiding judge of the court of criminal appeals and was the youngest women ever to serve on the court when first elected.

Raised on her family’s farm as a fifth-generation Alabamian, Wise received an undergraduate degree from Auburn University, then became a doctor of law at Faulkner University’s Thomas Goode Jones School of Law.

Wise and her husband, Arthur Ray, a former Montgomery County District Court Judge, are both members of St. James United Methodist Church.

Associate Justice Tommy Bryan

Tommy Bryan was elected to the Alabama Supreme Court in 2012 and sworn in the following day. In 2018, he was reelected to the court without opposition.

Raised on a family farm in Crenshaw County, Bryan was educated at Troy University. He then studied at Jones School of Law.

Before being elected to the Alabama Supreme Court, Bryan served on the Alabama Court of Civil Appeals. He lives in Montgomery and attends the city’s First Baptist Church.

Associate Justice William B. Sellers

William Sellers, a specialist in tax litigation, was appointed to the Alabama Supreme Court in 2017 by Governor Kay Ivey to fill a vacancy.

He received a bachelor degree from Hillsdale College before studying for his juris doctorate at the University of Alabama and receiving a masters of laws in taxation from New York University in 1989. Before entering public service, Sellers practiced law for 28 years.

Sellers has been married to his wife for 35 years, and the couple have three children. They are both members of the Trinity Presbyterian Church.

Associate Justice Brady E. Mendheim, Jr.

Brady E. Mendheim, Jr. was appointed to the Alabama Supreme Court in 2018 by Governor Kay Ivey to fill a vacancy, before which he had served as a circuit judge for the 20th Judicial Circuit (Henry and Houston Counties) since 2009.

He was educated at Auburn University and Samford University’s Cumberland School of Law. Mendheim, Jr. is married and has three sons. Both he and his wife are members of First Baptist Church of Dothan.

Associate Justice Sarah Hicks Stewart

In 2018, Sarah Hicks Stewart was elected to the Alabama Supreme Court, having previously served as a circuit judge in Mobile for 13 years, dealing with both criminal and civil cases.

Before joining the circuit bench in 2006, she spent 14 years in private practice, following her graduation from Vanderbilt Law School in 1992.

Stewart is married with three children and is active with Ashland Place Methodist Church.

Associate Justice Jay Mitchell

James ‘Jay’ Mitchell was first elected to the Alabama Supreme Court in 2018, prior to which he worked as an attorney for Maynard, Cooper & Gale.

Born in Mobile, he graduated from Birmingham-Southern College and the University of Virginia School of Law, and also holds a master of arts from University College in Dublin, Ireland.

A member of Church of the Highlands, Mitchell is married and has four children.

Associate Justice Gregory Carl Cook

Gregory Cook is the newest member of the Alabama Supreme Court, having been elected to the position in 2022.

He studied at Duke University before joining the United States Air Force where he reached the rank of captain. In 1991, Cook graduated from Harvard Law School, after which he went into private practice for 31 years.

Since 1991, Cook has been a member of the Dawson Memorial Baptist Church and he is married with three children.