Summary: Sofia Vergara’s ex-fiancee is not stopping his fight for the former couple’s frozen embryos.
In 2013, Sofia Vergara made embryos with her then-fiancee Nick Loeb, but a year later, the couple ended their relationship. But that didn’t stop Loeb from wanting to potentially still have children with his ex.
That’s why Loeb has filed a petition against the “Modern Family” superstar, according to Brietbart News. He is seeking full and sole custody of their embryos, which are frozen in California. He told the conservative news site that he is pro-life and this is not about snatching Vergara’s eggs.
“The embryos are mine,” Loeb told Breitbart News on Wednesday. “The biggest misconception out there is that I’m trying to steal my ex’s eggs. But, they’re not eggs. They’re embryos. It’s 50 percent me. It’s 50 percent mine.”
In an April 2015 opinion piece in the New York Times, Loeb said that he became pro-life after he went through two abortions and realized they were wrong.
“When we create embryos for the purpose of life, should we not define them as life, rather than as property?,” Loeb stated. “Does one person’s desire to avoid biological parenthood (free of any legal obligations) outweigh another’s religious beliefs in the sanctity of life and desire to be a parent? A woman is entitled to bring a pregnancy to term even if the man objects. Shouldn’t a man who is willing to take on all parental responsibilities be similarly entitled to bring his embryos to term even if the woman objects? These are issues that, unlike abortion, have nothing to do with the rights over one’s own body, and everything to do with a parent’s right to protect the life of his or her unborn child.”
Loeb’s attorney, Jalesia “Jasha” McQueen told Breitbart News that her client was fighting for “the embryos’ rights.” The lawsuit names the embryos, Emma and Isabella, and states that in Louisiana they are considered “natural persons” while in California they are considered “property.” Loeb is seeking removal of the embryos from California, which he views as unsafe.
“In Louisiana, there are circumstances that allow embryos to be seen as natural persons,” McQueen continued. “We’re saying that this falls under the child custody laws. Emma and Isabella are natural persons under Louisiana law, and, therefore, they’re protected and Louisiana should step in to take jurisdiction over them.”
Emma and Isabella were created in November of 2013 using IVF because Vergara did not want to carry a child in her own uterus, according to the petition. Some embryos were implanted in surrogates but did not come to term. This left only Emma and Isabella, which were kept in cryopreservation in California with the intent of being implanted into another surrogate until Loeb and Vergara broke up.
Vergara said that she wanted to keep the embroys frozen indefinitely, and that she and her then-fiancee had signed an agreement that no unilateral actions could be taken.
However, Loeb has been fighting in court since the end of their relationship to get the embryos back. His first lawsuit was filed in California, but a judge ruled that Loeb needed to submit the names of the two women who had abortions, but Loeb refused and the case was dismissed. He then filed a right-to-live lawsuit in Louisiana, but in August 2017, a Louisiana judge dismissed Loeb’s case because he said the jurisdiction was in California, where the embryos were conceived and currently stored.
Loeb told Breitbart that he was not asking Vergara for parenting help or financial assistance if Emma and Isabella were conceived.
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