Alabama’s IVF ruling shines a spotlight on state supreme court election

Weeks after a state supreme court decision that threatens the future of in vitro fertilization in Alabama, voters on Super Tuesday decided the court’s next slate of justices in a closely watched Republican primary election.

Last month, Alabama’s Supreme Court defined frozen embryos as children, expanding the scope of so-called “personhood” embraced by Christian fundamentalists and anti-abortion groups who believe that life begins at conception – and underscoring the far-reaching impacts of Roe v Wade’s collapse.

The ruling drew widespread condemnation and alarm, with fertility clinics across the state fearing swift legal scrutiny and their forced closure while families were left in heartbreaking limbo.

But the candidates running to replace