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In the criminal justice system,
sexually based offenses are considered especially heinous.
In New York City, the dedicated detectives
who investigate these vicious felonies
are members of an elite squad
known as the Special Victims Unit.
These are their stories.
Ow!
Don't!
No!
What's that noise?
- Who cares? Turn it up. - I warned you about this place
No!
No way can I do that.
I gotta be in Buffalo by tomorrow night.
Don't!
Stop!
Come on, hurry up.
No!
Aaah!
Aaah!
Oh!
Hey. Hey!
I already paid!
No!
What's going on?
Hey!
Are you okay, honey?
Help me.
What about my 50 bucks?
Go to hell!
A girl's been attacked.
Beaten, robbed,
left half naked on the floor.
EMT took her to Saint Vincent's.
Elliot's on his way there.
Hooker's the only one that heard anything.
He was hitting on her,
and she was hollering, "Stop, don't".
When I went in, he ran out past me with her purse.
You see his face?
Just a glimpse. But he was white.
Thank you.
He beat her with the lamp.
Perp was cold.
Took off the bulb and the shade first.
You get an ID?
No. Probably in her purse.
Manager said her name is Jane Smith.
You check her ID?
Why should I? She paid cash.
She come in here with anyone else?
She checked in about two weeks ago.
She have any visitors?
Heh. It's none of my business.
Your business is running a whorehouse.
You want us to haul your ass in?
All I know is she, uh, made a bunch of calls
from the payphone in the lobby.
Kept buggin' me
for change.
It's Elliot.
Second the nurse's back was turned, our girl grabbed
some clothes from the next bed...
gray sweats, a brown jersey.
The she went for a walk down the corridor--
Pause that.
Blow it up.
Then she slipped out a side entrance.
She's gone.
She told the E.R. her name was Jane Smith,
just like at the hotel.
She walk out under her own steam?
Yeah, but the doc said she took
a helluva beating to her thighs and torso.
There was vaginal bleeding.
So she could have internal injuries.
They do a rape kit?
They only drew blood.
She split before they could finish.
Well, it sounds like she was turning a trick,
John stole her purse.
Maybe he's an addict.
Or could be a pimp who roughed her up for working his game.
She hasn't been working here long.
CSU found a one-way bus ticket
crumpled in a wastebasket.
Two weeks old from Palassi, Virginia.
Runaway.
Comes to New York, uses up her money, goes on the game.
I faxed her E.R. photo
to the sheriff in Palassi.
It's a small town, he knows her.
Name is Lauren Westley, 16.
Her dad filed a Missing Persons report two days ago.
Two weeks after his kid skips? What was he waiting for?
Don't know, I left a message
on the home phone for him to call.
I dumped the roach motel's payphone.
Nothing too interesting in the last
two days except for eight calls to
the Manhattan Woman's Sexual Health clinic.
Doesn't exactly narrow it down.
I mean, you got 20 hookers working out of that hotel.
The best lead we got.
Let's check it out first thing in the morning.
We're looking for this girl.
Her name is Lauren Westley.
Judy, give us a moment.
I have seen her.
She said her name was Jane Smith.
Did something happen to her?
She was attacked.
Possibly sexually assaulted.
Why did she come here?
I can't tell you that.
Patient-doctor confidentiality.
Well, you treat
sexually transmitted diseases.
Was that it?
I'm sorry, I can't say.
Okay, Lauren's missing, and she needs medical attention.
I wish I could
help you, but Lauren refused to leave a phone number.
Dr. Lett, the E.R. drew blood.
We can make them test it.
Well, do what you have to.
I promise if she contacts me, I'll have her call you.
You have a card?
Nothing from the patrols.
Fin is out looking with his Vice buddies.
You still think Lauren was hooking?
Makes sense. And now with the clinic--
You know, John sees fresh meat, he wants to ride bareback.
Next thing, she's got gonorrhea or chlamydia.
Or worse, syphilis or HIV.
Any word from Lauren's dad?
Duty officer said he called at 2:00 a.m.
after he got our message.
Been here since 5:30.
That's Lauren in the middle, the blonde.
It's the school choir.
I thought the tape might help, you know, for the media.
It will.
Mr. Westley,
why'd you wait two weeks to report her missing?
She said she was coming here to visit a friend's family
and have a look at colleges.
I put her on a bus. Gave her some money.
You didn't call to make sure she's okay?
She called me.
Told me she was having fun.
And then three days ago, she stopped calling.
I checked with her friends, and...
none of them had even spoken to her.
So I came here myself and started looking.
Could she have come here with a boyfriend?
Lauren doesn't date.
You sound very sure.
I am.
She made the Golden Promise.
Golden Promise? What's that?
Kids pledge to abstain from sexual activity
until they're married.
Oh.
You know, Mr. Westley,
sometimes kids run away because there are, uh...
problems at home.
Well, Lauren's mother passed away ten years ago.
But it only made us closer.
Okay, well, we'll talk
to her friends and see if they know anything.
Whatever you need to do.
Please just find her.
E.R. faxed over Lauren's blood results.
No sign of infection, but her HCG was positive.
She's pregnant.
They tested for hormone levels,
and she's well into her second trimester.
Think she went to that clinic to get an abortion.
Explains why the doctor won't talk to us.
Manhattan Woman's Sexual Health Clinic listed
under abortion services.
So much for the Golden Promise.
Yeah, like that was ever gonna work.
One look
at a Britney Spears video, and the Golden Promise
goes out the bedroom window.
Abstinence is baloney.
I read the number of high school teenagers
having sex has dropped.
Well, I guess you haven't read about the high school
in Ohio where a fifth of the students got pregnant.
Guess what they were taught in Sex Ed?
You two can fight the cultural wars on your own time.
Why would somebody come all the way to New York
for an abortion?
Because Virginia law
requires teens get parental consent
before they terminate a pregnancy.
And if she's Daddy's little girl,
he's the last person in the world she'd tell.
Yeah, and you know who else was in town last night?
Pregnant.
How long?
Four or five months.
She must've been raped.
Some son-of-a-bitch raped her.
It's possible.
Probably the guy who beat her up.
You have to catch the bastard.
You were in the city last night.
Where were you about 8:30?
8:30, I--
You think I would hurt my own daughter?
Did you? No.
So where were you 8:30 last night?
I was having a bite to eat.
I have the credit card receipt.
My daughter was raped.
And you people are actually accusing me
of attacking her?!
Olivia, Fin needs you.
Vice found Lauren hiding out
in one of the cars.
She's in a bad way.
How did Vice know where to look?
Working girls use this place when they're on the run.
Smash out a window, at least they got a place to sleep.
There's blood all over the seat.
Attacker must've caught up with her.
Pick up her dad and bring him to the hospital.
How is she?
Lost a lot of blood.
I'll ride with her.
Keep all of her clothes.
We know the drill.
Lauren, it's okay.
You're at the hospital.
I'm a police officer.
Can you tell me who did this to you?
Later!
15-year-old female, possible internal hemorrhage.
One liter saline in the field.
How is she?
Don't know yet.
What did CSU get from the car?
Some food. Wheat bread, turkey, and tomatoes.
Doesn't sound like a hooker's chips and donuts.
We even found a plate,
plastic knife and fork, and a rose.
Where'd she buy all that?
We're canvassing the local stores.
I'm her father.
How is she?
She has massive internal bleeding.
The beating lacerated her liver, forming a blood clot.
It burst today.
If the detectives hadn't found her
when they did, she would've died.
We're about to send her up
to the O.R.
But the anesthesia will increase the risk to the fetus.
The baby's still alive?
Has a heartbeat.
But the drop in the mother's blood pressure
is causing fetal distress.
If we start to lose the baby,
do we have your permission to do an emergency C-section?
Will the baby survive?
24 weeks... 40 or 50% chance.
Save my daughter.
She's crashing.
Let's bag her.
The question is,
if Lauren was here for two weeks,
why didn't she get the abortion?
Maybe she decided to keep the baby.
Which pissed the baby's father off.
Lauren made it.
But the baby didn't. It was stillborn, a girl.
Go talk to the clinic.
Find out if Lauren went there by herself.
We need to speak with Dr. Lett.
He's with a patient. What's this about?
Lauren Westley.
We can't discuss our patients.
- She lost her baby. - Someone battered it to death.
Nearly killed Lauren in the process.
That's horrible.
Now, did she come in here alone?
Yes.
You better come in.
Like many young women in her position,
Lauren wasn't sure what she wanted to do.
Was she being pressured into having the abortion?
I believe so.
By the baby's father?
She ever mention him?
Only to say that he didn't want the baby.
As it turned out, he had no choice.
When I examined her, I found that legally,
I couldn't perform the abortion.
She was over 24 weeks.
You're sure?
I did an ultrasound
and she told me the date of conception.
How did Lauren react?
Stabler. She was upset,
naturally.
I encouraged her to talk to her parents.
When did you see her?
Uh...
Monday afternoon.
The day she was attacked.
It's Munch. He's got something.
We got security camera film from the store
three blocks from the parking lot where Lauren was found.
Shows a white kid, 16 or 17 buying food and drink.
Exactly the same things
that we found in the car with Lauren.
Here's the romantic bit--
He bought her the rose.
Classic batterer behavior--
He nearly beats her to death,
then buys her flowers to say he's sorry.
I'll fax his pretty mug out to the sheriff in Palassi.
I want to check something first.
It's the same kid.
Two Golden Promises broken.
We gotta get Laurento talk.
While you're there, ask her about her sister.
Sheriff says she used to have one.
Used to? What, is she dead?
Good as.
She got pregnant, Dad threw her out the house.
Just like that?
Yeah, he gave her some money,
said he never wanted to see her again.
Who is he, Lauren?
His name's Wayne Mortens. Did he do this?
Did he rape you?
I don't want to talk about it.
Lauren.
You almost died.
Tell them, sweetheart.
Tell them what he did to you.
- Mr. Westley, please. - Why don't we go outside?
I'm staying right here.
No, let's talk outside.
How well does Lauren know Wayne?
He's a year ahead of her.
Gives her a ride to school sometimes.
He been in any trouble?
His dad's in the Army, his mother's a nurse.
He's on his own a lot.
What difference does it make? He raped my daughter.
You should be out there looking for him.
We don't know that he did rape her.
He got her pregnant.
Mr. Westley,
you gotta start considering the possibility
that Lauren had consensual sex.
Lauren would never do that. She'd never betray me.
What if she was too scared to tell you?
Why would she be scared of me?
After what you did to her sister?
Now, that's none of your business.
So why don't you just do your damn job and catch the bastard?
First we gotta find him.
Do you have a number for his parents?
I have Wayne's cell phone number.
If I get stuck at work,
I call him, he gives Lauren a ride home.
There.
What are you doing?
Calling him.
Are you crazy? You're gonna scare him off!
Is that Wayne?
Hey, this is Elliot Stabler from St. Vincent's Hospital.
Lauren asked me to call.
She's doing fine.
She's in room 210.
Is Wayne the baby's father?
Yes.
Did he rape you?
I don't want to talk about it.
Lauren...
talking about it is gonna help you.
Did Wayne force you
to have sex with him?
We didn't mean for it to happen.
The nurse
said that I had a little girl.
I want to see her.
I'm sorry.
Please.
The medical examiner
took her away so they could figure out what happened.
Lauren.
Did you want to keep this baby?
The doctor said that I had to.
That I was too far along.
Wayne didn't want to hear that, so he got angry.
Yes.
And he started hitting you.
Um, hi, I'm looking for room 210.
Wayne Mortens?
Hey.
Hey, slow down!
Police! Stop him!
Wayne Mortens, you're under arrest.
You have the right to remain silent.
If you give up that right,
anything you say can and will be used against you
in a court of law.
It's not looking too good for you there, Wayne.
Now, why'd you have Lauren's wallet in your pocket
when we caught you?
Because you stole it after you beat her so hard
that you killed her baby.
Why'd you want to get rid of the baby?
Did you make her come
to New York to get an abortion?
You don't have to answer that.
The doctor tells you it's too late to abort.
You realize that you're gonna be a daddy,
so you took that lamp, and you beat her--
All right! Shut up, Wayne.
It wasn't Lauren's fault. Wayne--
I did it, I hit her.
I'd like to speak to the ADA.
He's a decent kid who got
caught up in a terrible situation and panicked.
He was calm enough
to remove the bulb and the shade from the lamp
before he used it to batter his girlfriend.
Extreme emotional distress.
Misdemeanor assault. Five years probation.
He killed a baby, Mr. Delroy. That's murder.
The fetus was stillborn.
That's not even a person under New York law.
So you can't charge him with murder.
At the very least, your client committed
first degree assault against Lauren
and an unjustified abortional
act on the fetus.
I am taking this to trial.
And if the autopsy proves
that that baby took a single breath outside the womb,
I will charge Wayne with murder.
The fetus had a fractured skull and multiple contusions
consistent with a beating.
More than 20 blows.
20 blows, but only a fractured skull?
Baby's bones are still forming, so they're hard to break.
What was the cause of death?
Technically, it was hypertension.
The mother's internal bleeding decreased the blood flow
across the placenta to the fetus.
No blood, no oxygen. The baby suffocated.
As a result of Wayne's beating.
Yes.
Did the baby draw breath after it was born?
I did a hydrostatic test on the lungs.
The alveoli had not expanded.
She was dead before she left her mother's body.
So according to New York law, she's not a person.
And you can't charge Wayne with murder.
There is something else.
I checked Lauren's hospital records.
They took photos of the bruising on her abdomen.
The bruising match the lamp?
Mostly.
Are you saying another person was involved?
Or another weapon. So I checked with CSU.
They didn't find anything matching these marks.
Could be a watch or a bracelet.
Wayne wasn't wearing any jewelry.
I mean, look at this.
The only way to raise a bump like that
is you would have to be...
hitting yourself.
Lauren, did you try to stop Wayne from attacking you?
Yes. Can't this wait?
My father's just renting a car. He'll be back soon.
You were pretty scared.
Is that why you ran away from the E.R.,
to get away from Wayne?
Yes.
Well, then why did you let him buy you food
when you were hiding in the car?
He found me.
Really?
It's a pretty big city. How'd he do that?
I don't know.
You don't know? You called him.
You called him, Lauren.
After he nearly beat you to death.
Look, I didn't know what else to do.
I was hurting so bad. I don't have anyone else.
Please just leave me alone.
What the hell is this?
Just asking Lauren a few questions.
What else is there to ask?
Lauren, did you try to harm your baby?
Of course she didn't.
Did you? No.
Lauren.
Do you always wear this watch?
Yes.
What does that have to do
with anything?
Matches the bruise pattern on your stomach.
Those photos were taken at the E.R.
There were seven points of contact.
You hit yourself.
I'm sorry.
And then you had Wayne hit you?
Yes.
The eyewitness said that you were yelling, "Stop, don't".
God forgive me, I was saying, "Don't stop".
Daddy! Please--
Mr. Westley, where are you going?
- Home. - What about your daughter?
Keep her, lock her up. I don't care.
Unfortunately, children aren't disposable.
They deserted me.
They're kids. Lauren's 16.
She made a promise.
She's your child.
I don't care what your beliefs are.
You don't stop loving her.
Like I know you don't stop thinking
about your other daughter.
Lauren tried to kill her baby.
Because she was afraid of you.
Don't prove her right.
My God.
What's gonna happento her?
That's up to the DA.
Miss DeVere.
Didn't expect to see you slumming out here.
I'm representing Wayne Mortens.
You come to offer a deal?
To see if he'll corroborate Lauren's confession.
Ooh, congratulations.
You finally realized she's complicit.
So you gonna charge her too?
Depends what Wayne has to say.
We know Lauren was involved. We know she hit herself.
Just tell me whose idea it was.
Tell her, Wayne.
Lauren's.
Why?
When the doctor said
that it was too late to get the abortion,
she came back to the hotel.
She was hysterical.
She said that her dad would throw her out
like he did to her sister.
What happened then?
She said that we had to do it.
That we had to get rid of the baby.
She told me to use the lamp.
She made me take off the shade and the bulb.
She laid down on the bed.
And she told me to start--
Hitting her?
I couldn't.
Lauren was crying.
And she started
hitting herself, and she was like, "Come on! Come on!"
And you did.
Yeah.
Casey, they're kids.
They're emotionally devastated.
They're not in control of their actions.
On the contrary.
They made a plan, and they executed it.
It was Lauren's plan.
She didn't force Wayne to hit her, but he still did.
Not once, but 20 times
until the lamp shattered.
Lauren hit the baby too.
And I'm going to charge them both.
Which means you charge her with a misdemeanor
and him with a felony?
Gee. Does that seem fair to you?
It's complicated.
Both kids committed the same crime, but according
to the law, he could get five years in prison
while she gets five years probation.
Doesn't seem fair.
Who's the primary cause of the baby's death?
The boy,
but the girl incited and abetted the act.
The law's penalty reflects the degree of responsibility.
Seems fair to me.
Plead her out on a misdemeanor,
and prosecute him for the felony.
Sophie, you're working late.
All for a good cause, Arthur, all for a good cause.
Women's rights. You remember them.
You know, a lot of people in this country
want to take us back to the '50s.
And look what we got now. A '50s crime.
Are you forgetting that it's your male client
who committed the crime?
As a matter of fact, I haven't.
A motion to dismiss the charges against Wayne Mortens
on constitutional grounds.
What kind of nonsense is this?
There's no constitutional issue here.
Why, Arthur, have you forgotten
the 14th amendment?
The law treats Wayne Mortens and Lauren Westley
differently because of their gender.
That violates the equal protection clause.
Who's your trial judge?
Elizabeth Donnelly.
Our favorite radical feminist.
Wears her views on her sleeve.
This would probably appeal to her notion
of inequality.
I want you to talk to Donnelly.
Tell her to recuse herself from this case.
On what grounds?
Public views on abortion.
I think she's perfectly capable of divorcing
her personal beliefs from the case.
I'm not willing
to take that risk.
Talk to her, Casey,
and tell her we can do it unofficially or officially.
Are you asking
me to recuse myself?
I'm sorry, but your public position on abortion rights,
your work for NARAL, make it impossible
for you to appear impartial.
I'm against detention without trial at Guantanamo,
I can still try terrorism cases.
Your presence will also politicize the case.
It's gonna provide fuel for the pro-life lobby.
My absence will provide fuel for the pro-choice lobby,
which still exists, Casey, even if you've deserted it.
It's my job to prosecute this case, regardless of my views.
And it's my job to try it.
I see no reason at all why I should accede to your request,
so tell your boss to go screw himself.
Elizabeth.
If I have to make
this request official, you know I'll win.
Please don't make me do that.
Are you threatening me?
No.
I'm asking you as a friend.
Branch really got to you, didn't he?
All right.
I'll recuse myself.
Playing politics with the law, Casey.
You're heading down a slippery slope.
I hear Donnelly recused herself from the case.
Know anything about that?
Elizabeth and I go back a long way.
Maybe she didn't want to give me an unfair advantage.
Or maybe you and Branch mugged her,
because you were afraid she was gonna throw out your case.
If your motion depends on getting Donnelly,
you can't have much of an argument.
Well, we'll see.
Lauren and Wayne committed the same crime.
They should be charged with the same crime.
To do otherwise is to give Lauren preferential treatment,
because she's female.
Lauren's gender is the issue, Your Honor.
Pregnant women are
under more stress, especially if they're 16.
Women only a little older than Lauren
are fighting and dying in Iraq.
To argue that--that a pregnant woman is not mature enough
to face the consequences of her action
is sexist and offensive.
Well, that's odd.
Miss DeVere has argued the exact opposite.
In four previous cases,
she's used the stress of pregnancy
to defend a woman's violent criminal actions.
In the case at hand,
the law is constitutionally defective
and violates my client's civil rights.
I'm sorry, Miss DeVere,
but if you think the law is defective,
take it up with the legislature or the Appeals Court.
Your client
is facing serious criminal charges.
The trial will proceed. Good night.
One more thing, Your Honor.
I would move that in the trial,
the fetus be referred to as the fetus,
not "the unborn child"
or "the baby".
These emotive terms are
deeply prejudicial for my client.
This is outrageous, Your Honor.
The baby was more than 24 weeks old.
It could've lived
outside the womb.
But tragically it did not,
so it is not a person, not a baby, not an unborn child.
It is a fetus.
My client is already handicapped by the law.
Let's not add insult to injury.
The only insult is to the English language.
I agree, Miss Novak.
But I also agree it is prejudicial.
The dead baby will only be referred to as "the fetus".
Dr. Warner,
how much force would it take
to fracture the skull of this fetus?
A considerable amount of force,
since the bones are not fully calcified.
Would the 20 separate
blows Wayne Mortens inflicted
have caused the victim to feel pain?
Objection. Relevance?
The suffering of the victim isn't relevant?
The fetus is not a person under the law.
How can it be a victim?
If the defendant had tortured a cat or a dog,
the jury would want to know the degree of the victim's pain.
Does a human fetus have fewer rights?
I'll allow the question.
I have a further objection.
It clearly states in the Journal of the American
Medical Association that a fetus does not feel
pain until after the 29th week.
And other
studies show that the fetus feels pain
as early as 23 weeks.
The conclusions of that study are still being debated.
Then until they're settled,
we will not debate them in my courtroom.
Objection is sustained.
Dr. Warner,
did the defendant's attack
cause the death of the fetus?
Yes.
Thank you.
Dr. Warner,
I have two photos
from Lauren Westley's hospital records.
What do these show?
Bruises and abrasions to her abdomen.
Caused by the lamp?
No.
Caused by what?
By this?
Yes.
Let the record show that the witness has identified
Lauren Westley's watch.
So it wasn't just Wayne who attacked the fetus.
It was the mother as well.
Yes.
No further questions.
How often did you and Wayne have sex?
Once.
We didn't mean for it to happen.
It just did.
And when was it
that you knew you were pregnant?
Not until
about 13 weeks later
when I missed my third period.
Then why didn't you tell somebody?
Your doctor or your father?
I was afraid.
Afraid of what?
My father.
That he'd throw me out of the house.
I knew I couldn't take care of a baby on my own.
There are legal ways
to terminate a pregnancy.
Did you consider them?
Yes.
I tried to buy the abortion pill,
but the pharmacist wouldn't sell it.
Why not?
He said it was against his conscience.
We went
to the hospital, but...
they said that they needed my father's consent.
And you were too afraid to tell him.
And then I read on the Internet
about this herb that could cause an abortion.
But it just made me really sick.
And then you came to New York.
I called a clinic.
It was the first ad I saw in the phone book,
and they seemed nice.
But...
by the time I saw the doctor,
he said I was past 24 weeks.
And that it was too late.
I had no way out.
I wanted to kill myself.
I told Wayne to start hitting me.
He did it, because I asked him to.
And now Wayne is on trial, and you are free.
Does that seem fair to you?
Objection.
No further questions.
That is a pretty sad story, Lauren.
It almost seems as if you had no choice
but to batter your fetus to death.
Is there a question here, Your Honor?
There is.
You did have a choice, didn't you?
You could've told your dad.
I was afraid of what he would do if he knew.
But he knows now,
and where is he?
He's here,
in the courtroom, supporting you.
And what about the abortion clinic?
You were in New York two weeks before you went there.
You could've gotten a legal abortion then.
Why wait?
I didn't wait.
I went to the clinic the first day I got here.
Why not get the abortion then?
Were you having second thoughts?
The nurse said that I had a temperature,
that they couldn't do
the procedure.
She said to call back when I felt better.
Did you?
Yes.
But by the time I got the appointment, it was too late.
Nothing further.
The witness may step down.
Court is adjourned until tomorrow morning.
Two visits to the abortion clinic?
Why the hell didn't we know about this?
The kids never mentioned it, neither did the doctor.
Dr. Lett, did you see Lauren the first time she came in?
I'll have to check.
We see dozens of women every day.
While you're looking,
check the fever Lauren was supposed to have.
We spoke to her. She said she felt fine.
Huh, who do you believe?
A scared teenager or a doctor with a thermometer?
Well, here's her file.
Uh...
Yes, she had a fever of 102.
So you did examine her?
Yes, and I told her that performing the procedure
while she had an infection would, uh,
pose a great risk to her.
And who was the nurse?
Judy Galton.
We're gonna need to talk to her.
Unfortunately, um, Judy recently left us.
This work can be very stressful.
Why did it take you so long to see her
again after her first visit?
Well, she was told to call and make a new appointment.
Uh, looks like she just took her time getting back to us.
No, Lauren called you every day
at least three times a day for two weeks.
We dumped the hotel payphone.
Well, if it was a payphone,
how do you know it was Lauren calling?
Does it normally take two weeks to schedule an appointment?
We're very busy.
Or did it only take
two weeks because you wanted to delay her
till it was too late to have a legal abortion?
That's an outrageous accusation.
And quite unprovable.
We checked with Medicaid.
There's no record of this clinic
ever performing a single procedure.
It's one of those fake abortion clinics.
Apparently, they're springing up all over the country.
I didn't expect to see them here.
They're trying to clean up Sodom and Gomorrah.
You know the minute I put that doctor on the stand
the jury's gonna be on my side.
It may be hard
for you to prove fraud, but it does look
like he deliberately misled Lauren.
If I get her medical records to show your M.E...
will you deal?
Would you please excuse us, Sophie?
Why, certainly.
Why are you making a deal?
Lauren Westley was given fraudulent information
by a doctor masquerading
as a provider of abortion services.
Did he instruct
her to get her boyfriend
to batter her baby to death?
No.
Did he assist them?
He forced them into a corner.
Does that justify battering her?
No deals, Casey.
Do your job. Prosecute the crime.
I am already losing the jury.
With this new information, I don't--
You know what's more important
than winning or losing?
Sending a message that this city won't condone violent crime
whatever the duress.
Sounds like you don't agree with your boss's orders.
Even if I win, I'll feel like I convicted the wrong person.
Lauren and Wayne killed that baby,
whatever it's called in court.
But they tried every legal method to abort,
even a medieval herbal remedy.
They were blocked every single time.
Dr. Lett was their last resort, and he lied to them.
I spoke with the nurse who saw Lauren.
She corroborates his story. We can't prove anything.
Maybe this'll help. Lauren's records.
Since when does a doctor in a busy clinic
take a patient's temperature
and blood pressure?
I wouldn't.
- The nurse does it. - Yes.
And the nurse
charts the results in her notes.
But her notes are missing.
There's only Dr. Lett's signature.
I wanna talk to that nurse.
Did you work at the
Manhattan Woman's Sexual Health Clinic?
Yes.
Did you examine Lauren Westley
on her first visit to the clinic?
Yes.
You must see dozens of patients.
How can you be sure?
I would never forget Lauren.
Not after what happened to her.
Did you take her temperature?
Yes.
Thank you.
Your witness.
What was her temperature?
It was normal. 98.6.
In the chart it says that it was 102.
The chart is incorrect.
But you told Lauren that she had a fever.
Yes.
You lied.
It was what I was told to do.
By whom?
Dr. Lett.
Why?
To delay performing the abortion.
For how long?
Until it was too late.
Why did you leave the clinic?
I'm against abortion.
When all we did was try to persuade
women and girls not to abort their babies,
I was fine.
But then there were things I didn't agree with.
Like...
what we did to Lauren.
She called every single day,
asking when she could come in.
I dreaded hearing her voice on the phone,
but I kept lying to her.
Why?
Dr. Lett told me to.
Will the defendant please stand?
On the misdemeanor charge of assault in the third degree,
how do you find?
We find the defendant guilty.
On the felony charge of an unjustified abortional act,
how do you find?
We find the defendant not guilty.
Court is adjourned.
You okay?
Casey.
So you handed the case
to the defense?
Wayne still got probation.
Really?
Well, I may be pro-life, but I'm even more pro-law.
Arrest that doctor.
You can't go in there.
What the hell do you think you're doing?
Arresting you.
What for?
Fraud, forging medical records,
reckless endangerment.
Well, I've done nothing wrong.
You have the right to remain silent.
I'm saving innocent lives.
Anything you say can and will be used--
- I'm saving innocent lives. - Against you in a court of law.
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