How fetal personhood is shaping the reproductive rights debate

Across the country, lawmakers, courts, and federal agencies are increasingly defining terms that shape women's rights. One of the clearest examples is fetal personhood—the idea that an embryo or fetus can be recognized as a legal person with rights under the law.

In recent months, that idea has appeared in new federal policy, state legislation, and court decisions. The Trump administration recently revised a federal embryo adoption grant program to refer to frozen embryos as "children" with "rights," while states continue to test personhood through legislation and the courts. Alabama's 2024 IVF ruling remains one of the clearest examples, and states including Wisconsin and Georgia already recognize fetal rights in certain legal contexts.

Taken together, these developments suggest that fetal personhood is becoming an increasingly important part of the national conversation about reproductive rights. According to Pregnancy Justice, at least 24 states include fetal-rights language in abortion laws, while 17 states have established fetal rights through law or judicial decision in other legal contexts.

Why it Matters

At its core, this debate comes down to one question: When does the law recognize a human life as a person? The answer doesn't just affect abortion. It can shape how courts, lawmakers, and healthcare providers approach a wide range of reproductive health issues.

For women, three developments stand out:

Abortion is where the debate is playing out first. Supporters believe embryos and fetuses should receive the same legal protections as people after birth. Critics say that approach could strengthen abortion bans and support efforts to criminalize abortion, including proposals in some states that would apply criminal penalties not only to providers but also to pregnant women.
But the story doesn't end with abortion. If embryos or fetuses are treated as legal persons, that definition could also affect IVF, miscarriage and pregnancy-loss care, some forms of birth control, wrongful death lawsuits, and even whether a pregnant woman's advance directive is honored. Pregnancy Justice also points to existing fetal-rights laws that intersect with criminal law and court-ordered medical treatment during pregnancy.
Who's making these decisions is changing. For decades, doctors relied primarily on medical evidence and their professional judgment when caring for patients. Today, lawmakers, courts, and government agencies are increasingly defining what the law allows. As those legal definitions change, doctors—and the women they treat—may have different options than they did just a few years ago.

One thing is becoming increasingly clear: debates over reproductive rights are no longer focused only on access to abortion. They are increasingly centered on how the law defines terms like person, child, and life—definitions that can shape everything from healthcare and criminal law to fertility treatment and pregnancy care.

Why experts are watching

Legal historian Mary Ziegler, one of the country's leading scholars of the abortion debate, believes fetal personhood is likely to be one of the next major legal battles following the overturning of Roe v. Wade.

"This idea of fetal personhood was always sort of the endgame for abortion opponents," Ziegler told Wisconsin Public Radio earlier this year. "If you think of the past half-century as being driven by the effort to get rid of Roe v. Wade, the next half-century ... is going to be driving at this idea of fetal rights."

Organizations that support greater legal protections for unborn life have also made personhood a central goal. The Heritage Foundation has argued that unborn children should receive legal protections beginning at conception, while reproductive rights organizations warn that broader recognition of fetal personhood could fundamentally change reproductive healthcare and women's legal rights.

Background

The idea of fetal personhood has been around for decades, but it has received renewed attention since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022. Since then, lawmakers, courts, and federal agencies have all taken steps that legal experts say are expanding the debate.

In June, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced new funding for its Embryo Adoption Awareness and Services program using language that repeatedly referred to frozen embryos as "children" and described protecting their "rights." Earlier this year, Executive Order 14168 defined biological sex as existing "at conception," language that some legal scholars and reproductive rights organizations view as significant in the broader debate over fetal personhood.

At the state level, Alabama's 2024 Supreme Court ruling temporarily disrupted IVF services after frozen embryos were recognized as "extrauterine children" under the state's wrongful death law. Wisconsin is among the states whose laws already contain fetal-rights language, although legal scholars note that its practical effect depends on future court decisions and legislative action. Georgia has also extended legal recognition to unborn children in several areas of state law.

The trend is showing up in other areas of law as well. Pregnancy Justice reports that 38 states have criminal feticide laws that could authorize homicide charges for causing the loss of a pregnancy under certain circumstances. The organization also says prosecutors have increasingly used existing criminal laws after pregnancy loss, and that five states allow courts to order substance-use treatment for pregnant women without their consent under fetal-protection laws.

Resources

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services - Notice of Funding Opportunity Embryo Adoption Awareness and Services
The Guardian - The Trump administration is calling frozen embryos children
National Women's Law Center - The Anti-Abortion Movement Has Been Pushing a “Fetal Personhood” Strategy – It’s Not What You Think.
The Heritage Foundation - Protect Unborn Life and Family Formation
Pregnancy Justice - Laws by State
Wisconsin Public Radio - Wisconsin and other states have laws establishing fetal personhood. What could that mean for abortion access and IVF?
The Heritage Foundation - Restoring America's Promise: 2025 – 2026 POLICY PRIORITIES
Pregnancy Justice - Pregnancy Exceptionalism: A Review of Restrictions on Advance Directives