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2 couples planning to share frozen embryos sue each other to secure custodyST. LOUIS, Apr 08, 2010 (St. Louis Post-Dispatch - McClatchy-Tribune News Service via COMTEX) -- Two couples in Missouri and California that had hoped to share frozen embryos to create an unusual extended family, instead traded lawsuits Thursday in a legal battle that tests the bounds of child custody law. Both couples are suing the other for control of two frozen embryos currently stored in a California fertility clinic. Their dispute raises ethical questions over the definition of family relationships and even the word that should be used for the transfer of embryos _ adoption or donation. The California couple who first created the embryos, Edward and Kerry Lambert, are suing to secure custody of the embryos from Jen and Patrick McLaughlin, of Kirkwood, Mo. The Lamberts had signed a contract with the McLaughlins in February 2009, granting them four frozen embryos. The McLaughlins used two of the embryos to give birth to twin girls earlier this year. Since then, the two families have feuded over the fate of the remaining two embryos. The Lamberts claim the McLaughlins breached the contract by failing to return the unused embryos so that they could be used by them or others. The suit says they do not want the embryos implanted in Jen McLaughlin because of her violation of the contract and "recent behavior in connection with the two embryos." The McLaughlin lawsuit, filed Thursday afternoon on behalf of Jen McLaughlin and her seven children, says the McLaughlins' interests in "her unborn children" and the embryos' interest in their siblings "is of such uniqueness" to give the McLaughlins legal right to the embryos. The case has religious and moral twists that made it unprecedented, said Jen McLaughlin's lawyer, Al Watkins. "Under the terms of the contract, my client has adopted those embryos," he said Thursday. Watkins lashed out at the lawsuit filed by the Lamberts. "It has the tenor and position that the embryos are chattel and free to be used, given, taken away and otherwise distributed as the donor sees fit," he said. The case may have been prompted, in part, by unusual requirements imposed by the Lamberts and McLaughlins to keep the embryo adoption process open. The McLaughlins and the Lamberts had an arrangement that required that any children that resulted _ genetic siblings _ stay in contact via phone, visits and e-mail and that the Lamberts receive regular status reports. Both families said they believed the siblings had a right to know their genetic history. The two couples were featured in a Feb. 14 St. Louis Post-Dispatch story about the adoption of embryos, although the Lamberts were not named at that time to protect the privacy of their son, born from the same batch of embryos. The McLaughlins were one of at least 260 families nationwide who successfully have babies each year using some of an estimated 500,000 frozen embryos in storage. The case is certain to garner publicity, potentially on a national stage. Jen McLaughlin has already hired a publicist, who put out a news release announcing the McLaughlin lawsuit. "This is about keeping siblings together," Jen McLaughlin said Thursday in a phone interview. "I believe and have believed all along that the babies that are frozen are frozen babies, and they will be biological siblings." Kerry Lambert, reached at home by telephone, declined to comment. The fertility clinic, Reproductive Science Center of the San Francisco Bay Area, was sued by both sides. The clinic has said it is staying out of the dispute until the parties sign a legal agreement or until they receive a court order. The Lamberts had one child successfully using embryos created in 2006 with Edward Lambert's sperm and a donated egg. "Horrified" at the prospect of the embryos being destroyed, the Lamberts wanted control over the use of embryos, their lawsuit says, to both ensure that they are used and to ensure that the recipients would keep in touch with their biological siblings. They signed a contract last year donating four to the McLaughlins, who already had five adopted children, ranging in age from 4 to 11. Under their contract, the McLaughlins agreed to cover the California couple's related medical expenses and the cost of storing the embryos for one year. The McLaughlins thawed and used two of the embryos giving birth to two girls, Sarah and Anna. Then in February, a lawyer notified the McLaughlins that the Lamberts were going to donate the remaining embryos to someone else. The contract has a provision that says that any unused embryos after one year could revert to the Lamberts, if the Lambert chose. Watkins fired back in an April 5 letter to the clinic that questioned the legality of the contract and said the McLaughlins wanted to implant the embryos in Jen McLaughlin as soon as her health permits it. Watkins' letter warns that unless the clinic agrees, in writing, that the embryos belong to the McLaughlins and won't be released without their consent, the clinic could face legal action and the associated publicity. Watkins' warning, which a Lambert lawyer also received, prompted the pre-emptive Lambert lawsuit Thursday, which says that the McLaughlins violated the contract and asks a judge to declare that the Lamberts have sole custody and control over the embryos and order the McLaughlins to release their claim with the clinic. The McLaughlin lawsuit asks a judge in St. Louis County Circuit Court to do the opposite. Watkins said that the Lamberts knew that "my client is of this very conservative Catholic mindset," and believe "these embryos are my children and I have a legal and moral and ethical duty to raise these children." A hearing to address McLaughlin's request for a temporary restraining order has been scheduled for April 14 in St. Louis County. Jen McLaughlin said she attempted to resolve her dispute with the Lamberts out of court. "I never wanted to be in this place, she said. "I have reached out to them in every way possible." ___ (c) 2010, St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Visit the Post-Dispatch on the World Wide Web at http://www.stltoday.com/ Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For reprints, email [email protected], call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA. |