A teenager in Alabama is suing an abortion clinic for terminating the life of his unborn child against his wishes. On Tuesday, an Alabama county court recognized the aborted fetus, "Baby Roe," as a plaintiff in the lawsuit, making the case one of the first of its kind, his lawyer said. Ryan Magers, 19, of Madison County, claims his girlfriend got a medicated abortion at the Alabama Women's Center for Reproductive Alternatives in Huntsville in February 2017 when she was six weeks pregnant, according to legal documents, even though he urged her not to terminate the pregnancy. Alabama recognizes the personhood of a fetus, so Magers is suing on behalf of the fetus and himself.
“Baby Roe’s innocent life was taken by the profiteering of the Alabama Women’s Center and while no court will be able to bring Baby Roe back to life, we will seek the fullest extent of justice on behalf of Baby Roe and Baby Roe’s father,” Attorney Brent Helms said in a statement. “The time is ripe for consistency in Alabama’s jurisprudence: either we fully acknowledge the personhood of the unborn or we cherry pick which innocents we protect and which ones we trash for profit.”
Madison County probate court Judge Frank Barger allowed Magers to name his aborted child as a co-plaintiff in his case against Alabama Women's Center, a move that came just four months after the passage of an amendment that gave fetuses personhood, or the same legal rights as any other person, under the state constitution.
Helms believes the case could make it to the Supreme Court.
