A right-to-live lawsuit has been filed in a district court in Jefferson Parish in Louisiana on behalf of the fertilised eggs against their mother. The papers claim the “embryos” are named “Emma” and “Isabella”.

Their trustee, James Charbonnet, is also listed as a plaintiff.

According to court papers, the “embryos” were conceived via in vitro fertilisation, but Ms Vergara “has refused to consent to the continued development of her daughters Emma and Isabella, leaving them suspended in a frozen stasis of suspended animation”.

But Ms Vergara’s lawyer, Fred Silverberg, told The Wrap that they “are not embryos, but rather frozen fertilized ova”.

Mr Silverberg added: “It is unfortunate that Loeb feels the need to keep himself linked to Vergara, who is happily married, by taking up more of our overburdened courts resources, preventing judges from focusing on real legal problems.

“If it is really a family that Loeb wants, he should hire a surrogate and an egg donor and create one without dragging Vergara through another unnecessary legal battle.”