The University of Alabama at Birmingham health system, which includes the state’s largest hospital, announced today that it would pause in vitro fertilization treatments after the Alabama Supreme Court ruled that frozen embryos in test tubes should be considered children.

While it evaluates the legal ramifications, the health system said that it would continue performing egg retrievals from women seeking fertility treatment, but that it would not undertake the next steps in the process: combining the eggs with sperm in a lab for fertilization.

The State Supreme Court ruled on Friday that an 1872 statute allowing parents to sue over the wrongful death of a minor child applies to “unborn children.” The decision was criticized by the White House, reproductive medicine scientists and some legal experts who warned that the ruling could have profound effects beyond Alabama.

The U.S. warned of a Russian space weapon this year

U.S. intelligence agencies have told their closest European allies that if Russia is going to launch a nuclear weapon into orbit, it will probably do so this year.