Embryo personhood, once on the margins of abortion debates, is moving closer to the center

In vitro fertilization has become a bigger part of reproductive rights debates as a once-fringe movement to recognize embryos as people grows louder.

By: Risa Cromer, Purdue University, The Conversation

Outlets: The Conversation

Published: July 17, 2026

Words: 1,379

Last Updated: 2 days, 9 hours ago

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By Risa Cromer, Purdue University

About 100,000 babies were born through in vitro fertilization in 2024, according to the most recent U.S. data. But IVF commonly involves trying to create multiple embryos, because success is never guaranteed. If unused, those embryos can be frozen, discarded, donated to research or donated to another fertility patient.

In the eyes of some anti-abortion activists, those frozen IVF embryos are already children – children who need to be …

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