Alabama Supreme Court ruled that frozen embryos are considered children and that those who destroy them may be held accountable for unjust death of a minor. The decision is unprecedented in American history and reignites the debate about when life begins.

Reproductive rights advocates say the decision could have paralyzing effect in the treatment of infertility and profound implications at the national level, given that this could lead to increased legal costs associated with in vitro fertilizationthe union of a woman’s egg and a man’s sperm in a laboratory dish is skyrocketing, making the cost of infertility treatment impossible for many families.

Moreover, this may mean that parents will now be forced pay a lifetime fee for storing embryos even if they don’t want to have more children. Other states may try to define the embryos as human beings. In fact, the religious group is using the Alabama decision as a precedent in the Florida abortion rights case.

Dana Sussman, deputy executive director of the advocacy group Pregnancy Justice, said in a statement to cnn.

This is part of a long and strategic journey to consolidate the ideology of fetal embodiment that underlies the control of pregnant women, their decisions and birth outcomes.