MONTGOMERY, AL – An explosive device was detonated outside the office of Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall on Monday morning, February 26, amidst a heated debate over a recent state Supreme Court ruling that expanded the legal definition of a child to include frozen embryos.
The blast occurred near the intersection of South Bainbridge Street and Washington Avenue in Montgomery. Attorney General Marshall confirmed in a statement that no staff members or personnel were injured in the explosion.
The Alabama Law Enforcement Agency (ALEA) is spearheading the investigation into the incident. Sgt. Jeremy Burkett reported that the State Bureau of Investigation was alerted to the detonation shortly after 8 a.m. on Monday. State troopers and ALEA Hazardous Device Unit agents secured the area post-detonation.
While authorities have not provided a motive for the attack, the incident follows Attorney General Marshall’s pledge not to prosecute IVF providers in light of the controversial court decision. Katherine Robertson, Marshall’s chief counsel, stated that the AG’s office had “no intention of using the recent […] decision as a basis for prosecuting IVF families or providers.”
The timing of the explosion has raised concerns, although no direct connection has been established. In response to the ruling, the University of Alabama at Birmingham Hospital and other fertility clinics, including the Center for Reproductive Medicine and Alabama Fertility Specialists, have suspended all IVF treatments.
Dr. Mamie McLean, a specialist at Alabama Fertility Specialists, expressed worry about the “far-reaching consequences” of the ruling on what “is safe to freeze and safe to discard” to ABC News. The court’s decision has raised the possibility of IVF doctors facing civil and criminal liability for discarding embryos.
The ALEA urges anyone with information related to the detonation to contact them at 334-676-7890.
