The highest-paid actress in US television is embroiled in a dispute over embryos

The technical term for Hollywood’s latest bioethical brain-teaser is anti-mimesis, Oscar Wilde’s theory that life imitates art. Sophia Vergara, highest-paid TV actress in the United States, who stars in Modern Family, a popular TV show which depicts the kaleidoscopic formations of contemporary families (at least families in southern California), has become embroiled in a dispute over embryos. Her tangled relationship seems to be morphing into a script for her own show.

That happened in 2013. Then the couple split up. In 2014 Mr Loeb applied to void the contract so that he could proceed with a surrogate pregnancy. Ms Vergara refused. Mr Loeb called in the lawyers and placed his tale of growing up in a divorced home, his dreams of becoming a father, and his failed relationships in a New York Times op-ed. This was the lesson he had learned from those painful years:

“When we create embryos for the purpose of life, should we not define them as life, rather than as property? 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?”

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