According to an article from Attn, actress Sophia Vergara has been in a legal battle with her ex Nick Loeb over her frozen embryos since fall 2014, when he sued her for wanting to keep them “frozen indefinitely.” Although the court ruled in Vergara’s favor, Loeb has brought up another lawsuit in regards to the matter, saying that “the embryos will not receive the trust fund that he has granted for them if they are not brought to term.”
The article states how this issue is “disturbing” and “all too real,” which we know is true from what we have learned in class during our unit on reproductive rights. Loeb’s claims that he is being “denied the right to fatherhood,” which only works to further the oppression of women in regards to their reproductive rights. Furthermore, this oppression is complicated by the fact Vergara is a women of color. According to the article, “Vergara told Howard Stern in May 2015 that she doesn’t want to ‘bring kids to the world where it’s already set against them.'” Vergara’s logic is similar to the logic of the women of color we have read about in class. These women were afraid of having their children be subjected to the systems of oppression that would target them because of their race and class.
I was wondering if anyone else has been following this story (I just found out about it by scrolling through my Facebook feed). If so, what are your thoughts on the issue, especially in regards to the fact that Vergara is famous and that this issue is happening in the circle of modern pop-culture media?