A Microsoft executive has been subjected to painful insults from her ex-husband during a court battle over whether she can thaw two embryos created during their marriage.
Honeyhline Heidemann, 46, was labeled an unfit mother by lawyers acting on behalf of her ex-spouse Jason Heidemann, 44.
Jason, a powerful lawyer, attempted to bar Honeyhline from using the two embryos, claiming that she repeatedly forgot her children in a car, implying that she had endangered them.
He also claimed that his ex-wife had once brandished a knife at him, in another apparent attempt to portray her as unhinged.
Honeyhline Heidemann, 44, and her ex-husband faced off in court this month over two embryos they frozen during an in vitro fertilization cycle in 2015.
Honeyhline has three children, but wants more after she was diagnosed with stage 3 breast cancer in 2017 and chemotherapy treatment left her infertile.
Although she and her ex-husband Jason frozen two embryos in 2015, after the couple divorced in 2018, Honeyhline had to ask her ex-husband, Jason Heidemann, 44, for permission if she wanted to use them.
The couple signed a written agreement stating that the embryos would not be used without a court order or the consent of both parties.
Honeyhline, who works as a consultant for Microsoft, currently has three children, including a daughter born in 2016 that she shares with her ex-husband, another child thanks to a donor embryo in 2021, and a third born last month.
Advising lawyer Jason Heidemann, 46, has argued that the embryos should remain in storage unless he and his ex-wife can agree on what should be done with them.
The couple met in 2008 and are seen here in one of their first photographs. They divorced in 2018.
But her ex believes she couldn’t cope with more children and claims she wouldn’t be fit to do so.
At a trial in Fairfax Circuit Court, Jason Heidemann, an attorney and counsel for the U.S. International Trade Commission, took the witness stand to recount a series of incidents that suggested his ex-wife was already at the end of her rope. her ability to care for her three current children.
He described a series of disturbing incidents during which he felt his ex-wife had made poor parenting decisions, including two occasions when she left their young son in a parked car.
He also recounted an incident in 2017 when his ex-wife pulled out a knife after he wanted to take their daughter to visit the girl’s paternal grandmother.
In court documents, Honeyhline is described as paranoid, abusive and fascinated by the occult, reports Court news.
For her part, Honeyhline testified that her husband has “anger issues.”
A psychotherapist who treated her described her as a “remarkably resilient woman” who wants to spend as much time as possible with her daughter.
She believed that Jason was incapable of seeing the problems in his own behavior.
Jason Heidemann is seen with his daughter, Emma, in some of his Facebook photos, which he still co-parents with Honeyhline. He currently has primary custody of the child.
Jason has said that Honeyhline made some bad decisions as a parent, including two occasions when he left his young son in a parked car.
Jason has argued that the embryos should remain in storage unless he and his ex-wife can agree on what should be done with them.
He also expressed no desire to co-parent future children with Honeyhline, who agreed to hold him harmless.
In court, Honeyhline said she would prefer to be awarded both embryos, but also agreed that the court could allow each ex-spouse to receive one.
“I don’t really care about my insurance or anything like that, but I do care about my embryos,” she testified, emphasizing that it was probably her only chance to have another biological child after her battle with cancer.
Microsoft programmer Honeyhline Heidemann is seen with her eight-year-old daughter she shares with Jason
Jason, pictured with his daughter, has expressed no desire to co-parent future children with Honeyhline, who has agreed to hold him harmless should she use the embryos.
Jason also suggested that his ex-wife Honeyhline should not have any more children given that she now has three, including one born in 2021 and another born in March 2024, seen here.
“To me, you can’t put a price on it,” he said in court. “Without these embryos I would not have any other biological children.”
Honeyhline’s attorney, Jason Zellman, has argued that the embryos should be treated as property under the 2018 settlement agreement that both Heidemanns signed.
Jason’s attorney, Carrie Patterson, has argued otherwise, rejecting the idea that embryos are property that can be divided or even sold.
Judge Dontaè L. Bugg will now have to decide what will become of the Heidemann embryos in the final arguments scheduled for May 9.
