Former model sues CBS after allegedly being fired for becoming pregnant

state. But the defense lawyers say they need the information to defend their clients.

"[Cochran] should not be permitted to prejudice [the defense's] ability to discover potential or other causes of her emotional injury ...," the defense court papers state.

Cochran maintains her emotional ordeal from losing her job on the show has included suicidal thoughts, depression and anxiety, difficulty sleeping and nightmares, according to defense attorneys.

In a sworn declaration in support of the defense motion, Rosenberg says the limits Cochran's attorneys want to place on his examination are unrealistic.

"This limitation on my psychiatric examination of Ms. Cochran is not consistent with appropriate and generally accepted standards of the psychiatric evaluation process," according to Rosenberg.

A hearing on the defense motion is scheduled Aug. 31.

Cochran's son was stillborn and her daughter was born before reaching full term.

Another former show model, Shane Stirling, also is suing the same defendants. She modeled on the show from July 2002 until August 2008 and alleges she was fired in 2006 after she announced that she was expecting a baby.

According to Stirling's complaint, she was "forced into an early pregnancy leave, and was not allowed to come back to work for almost a year after the child's birth, and was fired abruptly."

The woman alleges now-retired show host Bob Barker said her pregnancy made her "dangerous" and "a liability."

Stirling's complaint alleges that Barker told her that she should "go home and take care of your baby." She says she was not allowed to work while she was expecting, then was finally allowed to return to the show in 2008 and was quickly fired, and told that the show was going in a different direction.

By Wire Services

Source: The Los Angeles Independent