Kent Johnson @kent_j@qoto.org

Based on the recent Alabama ruling that embryos (even frozen fertility clinic embryos) are children, does this mean that fertility clinics can now be charged with false imprisonment of minors? And if so, how could they go about freeing / releasing these minors – will the conservative-right (maybe the churches, themselves) take on the responsibility for keeping them viable until they can distribute all of them to loving families? And what would this mean? Would they ~strongly~ encourage their congregants to forgo any attempt to have their own biological children until all of the embryos have been implanted in potential mothers and let God decide which embryos are worthy of completing their development?

Was the Alabama court simply too incompetent (with emphasis on the word “simply”) to consider the implications of their ruling or did they just not care about what it might mean?

I'm quite sure that a contract would not be legally valid if I signed it while the other party was threatening me or someone I love with bodily or financial harm.

I know that the current negotiations going on in Wasington between the president and speaker of the house won't fall into the same catagory (i.e. they won't be invalidated because of undue pressure) but is seems disturbingly analogous. Actually, it's more like two spouses and the one with control of the checkbook is saying they will destroy both of their credit scores unless the other gives in to unrelated (or minimally related) demands.

#debtlimit #uspolitics

Thanks for the input -- though no more conclusive an answer than I had before. At least I know it is acceptable to refer to it (when doing so verbally --not on the internet) however my heart desires at the moment.

So here's an important question to the "qoto" powers that be. Is it pronounced "kwoto" or "koto"? (I presume that the vowels are long)

I've been assuming it is "kwoto" but without the typical "u" after the "q", I don't know if the "w" sound is appropriate.