Judge to Sherri Shepherd: You are the baby's mother

by

Sara McGinnis

posted in Celebrities

Sherri Shepherd is now officially responsible for a baby that isn't biologically hers. A judge has ruled in the strange case of the talk show host and ex-husband Lamar Sally, deciding Sherri is legally on the hook to support Lamar Junior.

The unusual drama began after Sherri and Lamar hired a surrogate named Jessica for $25,000, and had an embryo made of his sperm and a donor egg implanted in her. A few months into the pregnancy their relationship fell apart, and the former cohost of The View said she had been tricked into having the child. Upon the child's birth the surrogate was listed as the baby's mother while the court case waged on.

Check out the latest from Lamar and the surrogate, and take a peek at baby LJ, who was born eight months ago:

"Sherri owes me an apology for the things she put me through in the last year," the single dad says. "[Any apology to] me, Jessica and [baby] LJ. At some point she is going to have to look into his face and say, 'I'm sorry. You were conceived out of love.' Whether she admits to it or not, she owes me and Jessica an apology."

Meanwhile the surrogate says she's "very relieved" to no longer be named as the mother on the birth certificate of the baby she was hired to carry. Prior to Sherri being ruled legally responsible for the baby the state of California initiated a child support action against the surrogate.

"Now that Sherri's name is on the birth certificate, it is possible she may have to reimburse the state of California for the health insurance and WIC benefits, to cover the cost of formula," Lamar Sally's lawyer told People, adding he's seeking "tens of thousands of dollars" from his ex-wife in legal fees.

"The ultimate outcome is that this baby has two legal parents, and the parents are Lamar Sally and Sherri Shepherd," adds Palmer. "She has to be responsible for this child that she conceived and created."

It's hard to know what to make of Sherri Shepherd's unusual case, but my personal feeling is the judge made the right decision. Obviously something went very wrong in her marriage to Lamar, but she did choose to have the baby conceived and carried and there's no going back on that.

What struck me most with this latest update, however, is what Jessica has been through. I absolutely do not think the surrogate should have been named on the birth certificate or be on the hook for supporting the baby. Fathers aren't always named on birth certificates, why couldn't it just have been Lamar on his child's?

Boggles my mind just how complicated some of these embryo and surrogacy cases are getting!

Weigh in

Do you think the judge made the right decision?

Photo: PR Photos