Frozen human embryos can legally be considered property, or “chattel,” a Fairfax County Circuit Court Judge Richard Gardiner has ruled, basing his decision in part on a 19th century law governing the treatment of slaves. Gardiner's decision, issued in February, is not final: He has not yet ruled on other arguments in the case involving Honeyhline and Jason Heidemann, a divorced couple fighting over two frozen embryos that remain in storage. Honeyhline Heidemann, 45, wants to use the embryos. Jason Heidemann objects. The judge ruled that because embryos could not be bought or sold, they couldn’t be considered “goods and chattels," and therefore, Honeyhline had no recourse under that law to claim custody of the embryos. After a deep dive into the history of the law governing the treatment of slaves, Gardiner found parallels that forced him to reconsider whether the law should apply to embryos. Gardiner's ruling is being ruthlessly criticized: Susan Crockin, a lawyer and scholar at Geo...