Vergara ex sues her for the embryos they created

Actress Sofia Vergara’s ex-fiance has demanded that she give him two frozen embryos they created – referring to them as “our girls”.

Vergara ex sues her for the embryos they created

Actress Sofia Vergara’s ex-fiance has demanded that she give him two frozen embryos they created – referring to them as “our girls”.

Businessman Nick Loeb says he has sued the Modern Family star for the embryos because he longs to become a parent and does not want the “two lives” they created to “be destroyed or sit in a freezer until the end of time”.

He said he “pushed for children” after he and Colombian-American Vergara got engaged in 2012, and said the couple agreed the following year to try in vitro fertilisation and a surrogate to have children.

Mr Loeb wrote that they signed a form stating that any embryos they created could only be brought to term if both of them agreed. He said the form did not specifically say, as California law requires, what would happen to the embryos if they separated.

He is seeking to have the document voided. He and Vergara split last year and she is now dating actor Joe Manganiello.

Mr Loeb said Vergara’s lawyer has said she wants to keep the embryos frozen indefinitely.

Courts have wrangled over what to do with frozen fertilised embryos since at least the early 1990s.

But with laws that cover contracts between couples varying by state in the US, consensus is still emerging – and judges are reluctant to compel either a man or woman to become a parent against their will, experts say.

Many judges have looked to a 1992 Tennessee case between a woman in a divorcing couple who sought custody of frozen embryos, and a husband who wanted them destroyed.

The state Supreme Court eventually ruled in his favour, reasoning that the embryos had to be treated differently from property that could be divided equitably, or children, whose custody is awarded based on what is best for them.

But the Tennessee court also left an opening, ruling that if embryos were the only means by which the person seeking them could become a parent, that should carry some legal weight.

In 2012, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court employed just such a test, awarding frozen pre-embryos to a woman who claimed she was incapable of having children after her treatment for cancer.

In Vergara’s case, her former fiance wrote that he has offered “to pay for all expenses to carry our girls to term and raise them”.

“If she did not wish to share custody, I would take on full parenting responsibilities and agree to have her declared an egg donor,” he wrote.

more courts articles

Gary Glitter victim seeking six-figure sum in damages, court told Gary Glitter victim seeking six-figure sum in damages, court told
Man (25) in court charged with murdering his father and attempted murder of mother Man (25) in court charged with murdering his father and attempted murder of mother
Man appears in court charged with false imprisonment of woman in van Man appears in court charged with false imprisonment of woman in van

More in this section

Alessandro Michele Former Gucci designer Alessandro Michele named Valentino creative director
The 88th Academy Awards - Vanity Fair Party - Los Angeles Whoopi Goldberg: Script for Sister Act 3 is in the works
World premiere of Scoop - London People could not tell me and Billie Piper apart on Scoop set, Sam McAlister says
Lifestyle
Newsletter

The best food, health, entertainment and lifestyle content from the Irish Examiner, direct to your inbox.

Sign up
Cookie Policy Privacy Policy Brand Safety FAQ Help Contact Us Terms and Conditions

© Examiner Echo Group Limited