Virginia
Virginia judge uses a slavery law to rule frozen embryos are property
FAIRFAX, Va. (AP) — Frozen human embryos can legally be thought of property, or “chattel,” a Virginia decide has dominated, basing his resolution partly on a Nineteenth-century legislation governing the therapy of slaves.
The preliminary opinion by Fairfax County Circuit Court docket Decide Richard Gardiner – delivered in a long-running dispute between a divorced husband and spouse – is being criticized by some for wrongly and unnecessarily delving right into a time in Virginia historical past when it was legally permissible to personal human beings.
“It is repulsive and it is morally repugnant,” stated Susan Crockin, a lawyer and scholar at Georgetown College’s Kennedy Institute of Ethics and an knowledgeable in reproductive know-how legislation.
Solomon Ashby, president of the Outdated Dominion Bar Affiliation, knowledgeable group made up primarily of African American legal professionals, known as Gardiner’s ruling troubling.
“I wish to suppose that the bench and the bar could be looking for extra trendy precedent,” he stated.
Gardiner didn’t return a name to his chambers Wednesday. His resolution, issued final month, just isn’t remaining: He has not but dominated on different arguments within the case involving Honeyhline and Jason Heidemann, a divorced couple preventing over two frozen embryos that stay in storage.
Honeyhline Heidemann, 45, needs to make use of the embryos. Jason Heidemann objects.
Initially, Gardiner sided with Jason Heidemann. The legislation on the coronary heart of the case governs methods to divide “items and chattels.” The decide dominated that as a result of embryos couldn’t be purchased or offered, they could not be thought of as such and due to this fact Honeyhline Heidemann had no recourse beneath that legislation to say custody of them.
However after the ex-wife’s lawyer, Adam Kronfeld, requested the decide to rethink, Gardiner carried out a deep dive into the historical past of the legislation. He discovered that earlier than the Civil Conflict, it additionally utilized to slaves. The decide then researched previous rulings that ruled custody disputes involving slaves, and stated he discovered parallels that compelled him to rethink whether or not the legislation ought to apply to embryos.
In a separate half of his opinion, Gardiner additionally stated he erred when he initially concluded that human embryos can’t be offered.
“As there isn’t any prohibition on the sale of human embryos, they might be valued and offered, and thus could also be thought of ‘items or chattels,’” he wrote.
Crockin stated she’s not conscious of every other decide within the U.S. who has concluded that human embryos could be purchased and offered. She stated the pattern, if something, has been to acknowledge that embryos should be handled in a extra nuanced approach than as mere property.
Ashby stated he was baffled that Gardiner felt a have to delve into slavery to reply a query about embryos, even when Virginia case legislation is skinny on methods to deal with embryo custody questions.
“Hopefully, the jurisprudence will advance within the commonwealth of Virginia such that … we are going to not see slave codes” cited to justify authorized rulings, he stated.
Neither of the Heidemanns’ legal professionals ever raised the slavery difficulty. They did elevate different arguments in assist of their circumstances, nonetheless.
Jason Heidemann’s legal professionals stated permitting his ex-wife to implant the embryos they created after they had been married “would pressure Mr. Heidemann to procreate in opposition to his needs and due to this fact violate his constitutional proper to procreational autonomy.”
Honeyhline Heidemann’s lawyer, Kronfeld, argued that Honeyhline’s proper to the embryos outweighs her ex-husband’s objections, partly as a result of he would don’t have any authorized obligations to be their guardian and partly as a result of she has no different choices to conceive organic youngsters after present process most cancers therapies that made her infertile.
Kronfeld additionally argued that the preliminary separation settlement the couple signed in 2018 already handled the embryos as property after they concurred — beneath a subheading titled “Division of Private Property” — that the embryos would stay in cryogenic storage till a court docket ordered in any other case.
Gardiner has not but dominated on the argument over Jason Heidemann’s procreational autonomy.
Florida State has had some pretty easy games since playing the Alabama Crimson Tide. That all changes when FSU hits the road to take on the Virginia Cavaliers in Week 5.
Not only will the Seminoles be away from Doak Campbell Stadium for the first time this season, but it’s a night game on a short week as they will play on Friday. On top of that, Virginia comes in with one of the top offenses in the nation which will be a big test for Florida State’s defense that’s only allowing 10 points per game.
If FSU wants to get where they ultimately want to go, these are the types of games they have to win. Here are five reasons why they could struggle to get to 4-0.
Conference road games are tough
As well as Florida State is playing, none of their opponents so far were conference opponents. No matter who the program is, it’s always tougher to win in your conference, especially on the road. A turnover here and a big play there by the other team could start a chain of events that leads to trouble.
Florida State’s defense will face it’s biggest test so far
FSU has only yielded 10 points per game this season. However, they haven’t faced an offense like Virginia which has several running backs averaging over six yards per carry and a trio of capable wide receivers, which has led to them scoring over 44 points per game. Defensively, Florida State will need to play its best game of the season.
FSU’s offense could have a bad day
Florida State has lit teams up for 58 points per game. It’s been a cakewalk basically, but a some point, every offense, no matter how good it is, has an off night. A few bad drives could put Virginia’s high-powered offense in great positions to score and put the pressure on Florida State, and pressure burst pipes sometimes.
Turnovers can ignite a downward spiral
The Seminoles have only turned the ball over three times this season. Road games can get funky in a hurry if a turnover or two happens early. Florida State needs to protect the football to avoid making an already tough game even tougher.
Getting off to a slow start
This point is closely related to the previous four. If Florida State gets off to a slow start it will make the game tougher, their defense could struggle, their offense may not click on all cylinders, and that may lead to turnovers. Especially since this game is on the road, the Seminoles need to get off to a fast start.
Contact/Follow us @FSUWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Florida State news, notes and opinions. You can also follow Matthew on X @StarConscience
RICHMOND, Va. (WDBJ) – The housing market in Virginia held steady as home sales remain stagnant from last year despite increased prices and an inventory increase, according to a sales report for August released by Virginia REALTORS®.
Throughout the state, median sales price for a home in August reached $430,000, a 3.6% increase from the year before. Flat sales and higher price points pushed the sold dollar volume to $5.1 billion, up 4.4% year-over-year, according to the organization.
According to the organization, there were 24,606 active listings across the state by the end of August, a 26.2% rise from 2024. 13,000 new properties were listed in the month alone.
“Inventory growth has been one of the big stories of 2025,” says Virginia REALTORS® Chief Economist Ryan Price.
“With listings up more than 26% from last year, buyers across the commonwealth are seeing more options than they’ve had in a long time. While supply is improving, demand continues to be tempered by economic uncertainty.”
The organization mentions that properties are taking longer to sell, staying on the market for a median 17 days (five days longer than 2024). Since 2019, it has been the slowest pace in the month of August. Pending sales, however it showed a decent increase of 3.4% year-over-year.
Despite a downward trend for mortgage rates, there was a slight increase in the rate. The average 30-year fixed mortgage rate dropped just past 6.25% in the middle of September.
The president of the organization, Lorraine Arora, describes the drop in mortgage rates as a “positive sign” for buyers and sellers and if the trend continues, stronger sales could close out 2025.
About Virginia REALTORS®
Virginia REALTORS® (previously known as the Virginia Association of REALTORS®) is the largest trade association in Virginia, representing nearly 34,000 REALTORS® engaged in the residential and commercial real estate business. Virginia REALTORS® serves as an advocate for homeownership and represents the interests of property owners in the Commonwealth of Virginia. For more information, visit www.virginiarealtors.org or follow Virginia REALTORS® on Facebook and LinkedIn.
NOTE: The term REALTOR® is a registered collective membership mark that identifies a real estate professional who is a member of the National Association of REALTORS® and subscribes to its strict Code of Ethics.
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