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Republican presidential nomination seeker Nikki Haley has said she agrees with the Alabama Supreme Court's ruling that frozen embryos are 'children' and that someone can be held liable for destroying them. 

Interestingly, the former US ambassador to UN also shared her personal experience, saying she had conceived through artificial insemination. 

“I mean, I think embryos, to me, are babies,” Haley said in an interview with NBC News.  

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"I had artificial insemination. That’s how I had my son. So, when you look at it, one thing is to save sperm or to save eggs. But when you talk about an embryo, you are talking about, to me, that’s a life. So, I do see where that’s coming from when they talk about that,” she added. 

Part of the anti-abortion lobby, Haley, during her presidential campaign, has positioned herself as someone who has deep sympathies for both sides of the battle.  

Quizzed about what would be the potential ramifications of the judgment by the Alabama SC, Haley said: "This is one where we need to be incredibly respectful and sensitive about it."

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Later in the day, Haley clarified her remarks, reiterating that an embryo is "an unborn baby". 

"‘Do I believe an embryo is a baby?’ I do think that if you look in the definition an embryo is considered an unborn baby,” she told CNN.

What did the Alabama SC say?

The court was hearing cases brought by three couples who had their frozen embryos destroyed in an accident at a fertility clinic. 

Justice Jay Mitchell at the all-Republican court, citing anti-abortion language from the Alabama Constitution, ruled that an 1872 law allowed parents to sue over the death of a minor child which also applied to "unborn children". 

“Unborn children are ‘children" without exception based on developmental stage, physical location, or any other ancillary characteristics,” wrote Justice Mitchell in the verdict. 

Watch | Texas supreme court overUS: Pentagon's efforts to aid abortion in focus

The immediate effect

A day after the verdict, Alabama's largest hospital halted all the in-vitro fertilisation (IVF) procedures, with the administration saying it feared that they could be exposed to criminal prosecution. 

"We are saddened that this will impact our patients' attempt to have a baby through IVF," said the leading state medical provider, in a statement.

"But we must evaluate the potential that our patients and our physicians could be prosecuted criminally or face punitive damages for following the standard of care for IVF treatments," it added. 

Also Read: US: Alabama Supreme Court rules frozen embryos are 'children'

Previously, the freezing of embryos was considered property by the courts. However, the fresh verdict has increased fears that expectant people as well as the hospitals providing the treatment could be criminalised. 

(With inputs from agencies)