Law & Order (1990–2010): Season 9, Episode 6 - Scrambled - full transcript

NARRATOR: In the
criminal justice system

the people are represented by two
separate yet equally important groups,

the police who investigate crime

and the district attorneys
who prosecute the offenders.

These are their stories.

DR. RUTLAND: Seven, eight.

You're ovary's very supple.

Oh. Are they good ones?

Beauties. At least three
more eggs in those follicles.

Nine... MR. WESTON:
It's almost over.

We're going to make
you a beautiful baby.



Mr. Weston. Yes?

You can go do your part anytime.

Shouldn't I wait?

Let's fertilize them
while they're warm.

They've been waiting
almost 40 years.

It's the, uh, it's the
first door on the right.

There's some, uh,
magazines on the table.

DR. RUTLAND: Thomas, we're
going to be freezing some of these.

Go pull out some
straws. Mmm-hmm.

(WHISTLING)

What the... Sarah?

Sarah? Sarah?

THOMAS: Her name
is Sarah Purcell.

She's an embryologist.



When I went home last
night, she was working.

Alone?

Dr. Rutland was here.

She have any problems with
Dr. Rutland or anybody else in the clinic?

Sarah? No.

And how many people
have the code to this keypad?

Well, everyone who
works here, I think.

Thanks. Don't go away.

The groove in her skull looks
like it came from the tank.

There's some blood.

CURTIS: So she
quarreled with somebody,

and he picked up the
nearest heavy object?

He was already holding it.

They use these gloves
to work with these things.

These are extra-large.

She's gotta be a small.

So they pulled
off in the struggle?

It's a theory.

Latent will check for prints.

How cold are these tanks?

PERSKY: You can touch the outside,
but inside there's liquid nitrogen.

Stick your finger in and
it'll freeze and shatter.

So the killer opened this tank.

Why?

There's something in the sink.

So he was dumping this stuff.

She interrupted him.

Uh, Mr. Kravitz, would
you come in a minute?

What is this stuff exactly?

Uh, they were frozen embryos.

Dr. Rutland takes
eggs from women,

then fertilizes them with
their husbands' sperm.

These would have been babies?

Maybe 20 or 30.

Hell of a way to make an omelet.

There was no
sign of forced entry.

Now, is it possible that
some of your employees

aren't quite so loyal?

We've never had a
problem with anybody.

So who might have had a
grudge against this place?

The Pope.

Excuse me?

I make babies in Petri dishes.

I implant four or five embryos
and freeze the rest to try again later.

Some people
think that's immoral.

Anybody try to do
anything about it?

We get picketed,
we get hate mail.

That's why we keep the
cold storage room locked up.

Nobody's allowed
back there but staff.

You every have any
trouble in that area?

Just an accidental power
outage a couple of months ago.

Temperature sensor went off.

Dialed my pager
on a Saturday night.

And this was an accident?

Contractor said. We were
having some work done.

Dr. Rutland.

Harvey, you have
my deepest sympathy.

I was in Albany.
I just got back.

This is Harvey Purcell,
Sarah's husband.

We're very sorry.

What happened?

Can anybody tell
me what happened?

I was adding some circuits,
upgrading fixtures. Accidents happen.

On a Saturday night?

What are you, the only contractor
on earth who works weekends?

I wasn't working Saturday night,

it happened Saturday night.

Somebody flips the
wrong switch Friday

and it takes 24 hours
for the power to go off?

In the cold storage room,
where it really matters?

Look, what do you
want me to say?

How about what happened?

Dr. Rutland called me
and I went right over.

The circuit breaker was thrown.

I flipped it back,
it blew again.

I checked the outlet box.

Somebody'd run a jumper
wire between a couple of hots.

Somebody?

I had a new helper.
Real whack job.

Always going off about CIA
cover-ups, secret cloning.

Why didn't you report him?

None of those
frozen eggs got hurt.

And come Monday,
I fired the guy.

Why make a headache for myself?

CURTIS: So you're not wild about
the Rutland Clinic, is that right?

They manufacture
human beings for money.

Is that right?

And you think cutting off their
power is the way to set things straight?

The contractor couldn't prove
that. Nobody could prove that.

Until now, nobody tried.

So where were you last night?

What does that matter?

Answer the question.

I slept at my mother's,

in New Paltz.

We're gonna ask her.

What do you think, I'm the
Unabomber or something?

BRISCOE: "People
For Natural Law.

"Be a monkey-wrench in
the wheels of technology."

You a subscriber?

"Rutland Clinic Plays God."

I know what I'm talking
about. I don't make things up.

I can't give you
my mailing list.

One of your subscribers
sabotaged that clinic.

Another one might
have committed murder.

This is a respectable
advocacy group.

I write books, I give lectures.

And stir up trouble
for the Rutland Clinic.

It's an ethical and
moral nightmare.

Did you know the
great Dr. Rutland

is experimenting
with embryo cloning?

You can try out one baby.

If you like it, you can
go back and get its clone.

Or the baby can go
back 20 years later,

and give birth to
its own twin sister.

Is this one of your lectures?

You know what's next?

Transplanting ovaries
from aborted female fetuses.

Your mother could
be an aborted fetus.

So they ought to be shut down.

You think that justifies
killing a young woman?

Of course not.

CURTIS: Then why don't
you help us find the murderer?

Not by giving you my
subscribers' names.

Not while there's
a First Amendment.

So, you want to go fight
about this for a warrant?

Or we go another way.

Here's an application to
join People For Natural Law.

The guy really
impressed you, huh?

Down at the bottom,
there's a box to check

if you don't wish to receive
literature from other organizations.

He sells his mailing list.

Latent found some partial
fingerprints on the murder weapon

that don't match
any clinic employees.

It's not enough to run
through the system, though.

Well, we got 2,000 names
on the Natural Law mailing list

to run them against.

Plus every contractor and
part-timer at the Rutland Clinic.

There's more than 100.

Well, assisted
reproduction's a big business.

You know, that
newsletter guy is right.

Rutland is playing God.

He's playing with the brains
God gave him. Isn't that kosher?

What, making
babies in a test tube?

Storing leftover
babies in a freezer?

Embryos.

Fine. Embryos.

My sister couldn't have a baby.

They tried for years.

It was really painful.

CURTIS: Well, maybe she
wasn't meant to have a baby.

Excuse me?

Nobody's promised
a happy ending.

BRISCOE: Hey, Maxanne Vollers.

She's on the Natural Law
list and the clinic payroll.

Why would you be a member of People For
Natural Law if you were selling your eggs?

Well, I wasn't at first.

I wanted to help people.

But it was harder than I thought.
Hormone shots every day.

My boyfriend had to inject me.

I couldn't have
sex, I got moody.

So your mood changed
about what Rutland was doing.

It wasn't that.

I met the couple I was
supposed to be helping.

You met?

I thought donors were
supposed to be confidential.

Yes. "College graduate,
blue eyes." That's it.

But these people wanted to meet me,
and they were paying a lot of money.

So Rutland bent the rules.

You felt like your privacy
was being violated.

I met the couple.

He was over 60. So was she.

I thought that was wrong.

Rutland bent the rules
for cash customers?

Maybe somebody who was
casing the place asked for a full tour.

Including the off-limits
cold storage room.

You still think he's using
the brains God gave him?

You want to be a kid
whose mother turns 80

when you're still
in high school?

Hey, so some jerk
went overboard.

People who can't have
kids get to have them.

These places don't even
need licenses, Lennie.

Barber shops need licenses.

Oh, yeah, get the government
involved. That'll really make it better.

My father is very particular.

He wanted to see the clinic.
He wanted to see everything.

Including the cold storage room?

Yes. That's where my
embryos will be kept.

All of them.

I thought most people had
some implanted right away.

I'm not trying to
have a baby now.

CURTIS: Then why are
you touring fertility clinics?

I have leukemia.

I'm going to have radiation treatments.
They're going to make me sterile.

You're putting your eggs aside?

With sperm from an
anonymous donor.

If I live, I can have children.

If I die, my parents can
find a surrogate mother

and have a grandchild.

I thought my sex life was complicated
when I had to wear a condom.

Is that freaky enough for you?

She has a baby after she's dead?

Ah, that's between
her and her parents.

These scientists. If
they can do it, they do it.

Never think if
they should do it.

We're looking for
Mr. and Mrs. Wilson. 413.

Experimenting with embryos.

Experimenting with fetuses.

Come on, Rey. If some
doctor could cure your wife

with cells from a fetus...

It wouldn't be right.

Yeah, but you think
Deborah would agree?

Oh, you want to make
this personal, Lennie?

Let's say your daughter stored
some eggs before she died.

You could still
be a grandfather.

Does that sound good to you?

This is it.

You sure this is the apartment?

Card says Forester.

This is the number the
Wilsons gave the clinic.

I'm Detective Curtis, New York
City Police. Are you Mrs. Wilson?

No. Forester.

This your apartment?

For seven years.
What's this about?

Did you recently tour a...

Jesse! Leave him alone!

Recently tour
a fertility clinic?

Are you out of your mind?

I remember the Wilsons.

She didn't say much.
He was a character.

You think you could
describe him to a police artist?

Yeah.

Is he the one who broke in here?

Well, he gave you a phony name
and address. We need to talk to him.

Wow. He... He seemed
like such a nice guy.

You spend a lot
of time with him?

Not when he was here.

A few days later I ran into
him at Barnes and Noble.

We ended up having
a cup of coffee.

Just friendly.

The guy is married.

Mr. Wilson wanted
to see everything.

Including the cold storage room?

Mmm.

Everything.

He said he was trusting
us with his future children,

so he wanted to see
how the alarms worked

and if we had any cameras.

That didn't strike you as odd?

Mmm-mmm.

Not really. He was a funny guy.

I mean, he could
really make you laugh.

Stories about growing
up in Hell's Kitchen.

He told you his life story while
he was checking out your security?

Oh, no, no, no. I ran into
him a few days later at the Y.

He ended up on the
next exercise bike.

BRISCOE: We got
good descriptions.

This is Mr. Wilson.

How many employees
did he accidentally run into?

Four, that we heard about.

He talked to all of them
about the high cost of living,

about making ends meet.

Looking for someone
to take a payoff

who'd sell him a key and
the code to the storage room.

Yeah, that'd be somebody who didn't
mention Mr. Wilson running into them.

I'm running credit checks.

Here's a nurse who
owes $2,000 to Saks.

Walter Schwartz
pays every bill on time.

What's that nurse's name?

Here's a better one. William
O'Rourke, maintenance man.

Seven credit cards.
Every one maxed out.

BRISCOE: Mr. O'Rourke?

I'm Detective Briscoe.
This is Detective Curtis.

Yeah, I know. What
are you doing here?

Is that what you asked Mr. Wilson
when he found you here?

What are you talking about?

Him.

You come here after work.
We followed you here. So did he.

I don't remember the guy.

So we show this to
some of the regulars,

nobody's gonna remember
seeing you with him?

So I ran into him.
Things happen.

Yeah, like strangers meeting
you in bars and offering you money.

How much did he pay you?

He bought me a drink.

We're gonna find out.

I want a lawyer.

(LAUGHS)

I've advised my client
not to answer questions.

Fine. Just don't stuff
cotton in his ears.

At 9:00 a.m., we're gonna call
seven credit card companies

and find out if you just
made any big payments.

If we did, we're gonna find
out where you got the money.

And if it's from a guy
calling himself Wilson,

we're gonna arrest
you as an accomplice

to the murder of Sarah Purcell.

No... CURTIS: Mr. O'Rourke.

You didn't want her dead.

You were friends
with her, weren't you?

Can he answer that one, Mr. Kim?

Don't you want to help catch
the man who bashed her skull in?

What does he get?

Accomplice to burglary.

Third degree? No
charge in the homicide.

If he tells us everything.

He said he worked for another doctor
who wanted to get Dr. Rutland's techniques

to help more people.

Very altruistic.

How much was he
going to pay you?

$5,000.

He wanted a key, the alarm code,
how to disable the temperature monitor.

And this was gonna
help other people how?

I needed the money.

I didn't think anybody
would get hurt.

He ask you for anything else?

A list of which embryos
were in which tank.

You give it to him?

I gave him everything.

We met on a bench
in Central Park,

off 5th, near 72nd.

He asked for a list of which
embryos were in which tank.

He was after a specific embryo?

Well, we always thought it was some
protester who wanted to trash the place,

and Sarah Purcell wandered in
when he'd only had time to do one tank.

Yeah, he might have
been finished, not starting.

Find out which
embryos he flushed.

There were six straws in
that tank, one per couple.

Some of the
information's out of date.

BRISCOE: Why is that?

People moved away.

People stopped
responding to our letters.

Great parents.

When people succeed
in having a child,

or get divorced, or
change their minds,

they sometimes prefer to
forget about leftover embryos.

We make couples sign a contract

saying they'll implant
them within five years.

Or what?

Donate them to research.

All of the embryos in that tank
were more than five-years-old.

Actually, more than eight.

Dr. Rutland called
us after it happened.

It was almost a relief.

That embryos you and your
husband created were destroyed?

Almost a relief.

We made ten embryos.

Dr. Rutland implanted four.

We had a beautiful girl
nine years ago. Margo.

Four embryos and only one child?

That's pretty normal.

We only ever wanted one child.

But you had six more
sitting in cold storage.

Yes.

We're not Catholic,

but we thought they...

They could be
children like Margo.

Can you think of any reason why
anybody would want to destroy them?

No. They weren't of
interest to anybody but us.

I was devastated
when the clinic called.

Those embryos
were my last chance.

You or your husband
have a medical problem?

My husband is dead.

Three months
ago, his car crashed

while he was driving back
from our house in Connecticut.

I'm sorry.

(SIGHS) We wanted
to have children.

It was very important to him.

And to me, especially
after he died.

I even tried to have sperm
removed from his body.

After he died?

They can do that.

Didn't work with Joe.

Because of the accident.

His internal organs.

But you still had the embryos.

Yes.

I was going to have
them implanted.

There were five of them. The odds
were very good I would have a child.

Mrs. Galvin,

the embryos in that tank
were at least eight years old.

Uh, you look awfully young.

I married Joe three
years ago, when I was 22.

Joe was 51.

So the embryos?

He'd made them
with his first wife.

So you were going to have his
first wife's eggs implanted in you?

Her eggs. Joe's sperm.

They went to Joe in the divorce.
When he died, they came to me.

How did the first Mrs.
Galvin feel about that?

She didn't like it.

What does all this
matter, anyway?

Dr. Rutland said some
maniac just went into

the lab and started
destroying everything.

That's what we used to think.

But now we believe the killer
was after something specific.

(SCOFFS)

Arlene Galvin.

275 Central Park West.

She's out. You want
to leave a message?

You know where she went?

Broadway matinee with her son.

You know, I'm not supposed to be
giving out information about the residents.

You ever see this
man with Mrs. Galvin?

You're kidding, right?

There.

Hey.

Yeah, hey.

We gonna do this easy?

Francis, do what?

These are police
officers, Mrs. Galvin.

William O'Rourke, the guy
who sold you the key to the clinic,

just picked you
out of a photo array.

We had a nicer shade
of puke green at the 25.

Francis Curran.

Joined the force '77.

Made Detective '89.

Left the force '91,
before the pension.

I had a few shots
at lunch one day,

then had a spirited
discussion with my L-T.

BRISCOE: Spirited, huh?

Bastard kept sticking
me on uniform details.

Election Day I was in the bag.

Puerto Rican Day, in the bag.

He calls me in, says
pull out the uniform,

the King of Belgium's in town.

Protective detail?

I said, tell the King of
Belgium to wear the uniform.

Otherwise, who's gonna
know who the hell he is?

We discussed it some more,
then I helped him trip and fall.

(SIGHS)

So now you're driving
cars for the bluebloods?

Yeah.

I keep the riffraff away
from Mrs. Galvin and the boy.

Same old, same old.

Working stiff doing
errands for the upper crust.

She's a good lady.

She can't be good enough
for you to take this fall alone.

So who's the King of Belgium
need to be protected against?

The Duke of Earl?

Say hello to Richard
Billings, Mrs. Galvin's attorney.

Arlene, are you all right?

Yes, I'm all right.

I told them I wouldn't talk
to them until you got here.

You're not talking
to them now either.

I'm taking Mrs. Galvin
and Mr. Curran home.

If you have questions
for either of them,

you may ask them through me.

Give us a minute, Counselor.

Thank you.

Latent ran Curran's prints against
partials from the crime scene.

Perfect match.

So he's our guy. But
she had to put him up to it.

Because... Let me
see if I get this straight.

Her ex-husband's second wife

wanted to implant
her frozen embryos?

And give birth to her children.

A lot of people wouldn't
be too thrilled about that.

Just not a motive
I run into much.

You wouldn't have any actual
evidence that she put him up to it?

Curran can tell
us if he wanted to.

Well, let's make him want to.

Well?

Mrs. Galvin is free to go.

But I'm afraid your chauffeur is
not available to drive you home.

Francis Curran.

Here it comes.

You're under arrest for
the murder of Sarah Purcell.

You have the right to remain
silent and the right to an attorney.

Anything I say can and will be
used against me in a court of law.

Why hasn't Arlene
Galvin been arrested?

The case is still under
active investigation.

You arrested her chauffeur.

You think he came up
with the idea by himself?

She killed my
embryos. That's murder.

CARMICHAEL: Actually, Mrs.
Galvin, under New York law,

it's not murder to kill
someone who hasn't been born.

That's ridiculous.

But the embryologist, Sarah
Purcell, was definitely murdered.

Okay, her then.

Arlene was obviously behind it.

If you have information
that could help us.

She was jealous of me and Joe.

(SCOFFS) She couldn't stand
that I was keeping those embryos.

How upset was she?

My God.

She only had a screaming
fit in that Surrogate Court.

The issue of the ownership of the
embryos became very contentious.

I proposed several compromises.

Any takers, Judge?

Ah, neither woman would yield.

I see this kind of thing
sometimes with pets.

You think they were
motivated entirely by

sentiment, or was there
something in the will?

Yeah, something is
an understatement.

The bulk of Mr. Galvin's estate

was put into a trust for
the benefit of his children.

Children already born, or children
born sometime in the future?

Either one.

So if Coral Galvin implanted
the embryos and had a child...

Arlene Galvin's son would
have to share the trust.

I referred the issue
to a Special Master.

How much money
are we talking about?

Approximately $11,000,000.

No wonder they got emotional.

So you ended up
ruling for Coral?

I hadn't ruled on anything yet.

But that's the
way I was leaning.

Did Arlene Galvin know that?

Well, she must have.

Her lawyer got the recommendation
of the Special Master,

and he based his decision
on the terms of the will

and the divorce agreement.

When Joseph and
Arlene Galvin got divorced,

he didn't want her having
any more of his children.

I can understand that.

When they did the
property settlement,

she got the Harry Winston pearls
and the co-op on Central Park West.

He got the Range Rover, the country
club membership, and the embryos.

Very nice.

When he died, his will
left his second wife, Coral,

all his personal property,

which the surrogate was about
to rule included the embryos.

She got very little cash because
of the terms of the pre-nup.

So if she has her dead husband's
baby, she hits the jackpot?

Yeah.

She'd get to manage
the kid's money.

Unbelievable.

JACK: Irrelevant.

If Arlene Galvin sent her
chauffeur into that building,

she's guilty of felony murder.

(SIGHS)

Can you trace the cash

that the chauffeur
used to buy the key?

We can't prove that
Arlene Galvin gave it to him

unless he talks, and he won't.

Motivate him.

Who's this Mrs. Wilson
he took to the clinic?

(BUZZER BEEPING)

Francis. How they treating you?

Not all bad in here.

Losing a little weight.

My cellmate's teaching me
how to break into parking meters.

Saw your wife this morning.

She doesn't know anything.

She helped you case the clinic.

The people there
recognized her picture.

If she's a suspect I
should have been notified.

I told her I was doing
a favor for a sick friend.

She's the one who's
sick, Mr. Curran.

We know about her arthritis.

She had to quit
her waitress job.

JACK: That's why you did
it. You needed the money.

You leave her alone.

You tell us who sent
you into that clinic.

Don't answer that.

Fine.

You'll serve the
maximum sentence,

with your wife in a
prison down the road.

That's a bluff.

Mr. Grove,

Arlene Galvin is paying
your fee, isn't she?

What's that matter?

It matters if you're putting
her interest above your client's.

I'll make sure the Disciplinary
Committee hears all about it.

Now you're threatening me?

I'm stating a fact.

And I'm offering him a deal.

Fifteen years instead of 25.

And you don't touch my wife.

Mr. Curran... What?

It was eating Mrs. Galvin up.

That the bimbo
might have her baby.

She told me to destroy those
embryos and gave me $50,000.

Nobody was supposed to get hurt.

That girl tried to stop me.

I just wanted to get away.

We just got Arlene
Galvin's motion to dismiss.

Says the facts don't make out
the elements of felony murder.

She sent her
chauffeur into that clinic

to commit a burglary, during
which he killed somebody.

That's the definition
of felony murder.

If he was there to
commit the burglary,

which is defined as,

"Entering a building unlawfully
with intent to commit a crime therein."

So? Arlene Galvin wanted
Curran to destroy private property.

The embryos.

She's claiming that the
embryos belong to her,

so destroying
them wasn't a crime.

No burglary, no felony murder.

That's a pretty fine loophole.

It's what the statute says.

We might have to go after her for
depraved indifference or reckless homicide.

We'd have to prove

that she knew Curran might kill
somebody, and she didn't care.

With felony murder,

she's nailed automatically as
soon as Curran takes the stand.

Only if those
embryos weren't hers.

The Special Master
said they weren't.

For purposes of
settling an estate,

because they were included in a
lump bequest of personal property.

Do you see a problem with that?

Maybe not the same one you do.

You don't take that to a jury.

The Special Master's recommendation
should carry some weight.

You want to ask 12
people off the street

to decide that human
embryos are property,

like this lamp?

Well, what are they? People?

CARMICHAEL:
They're not property.

You can sell property, but
it's illegal to sell embryos.

It's legal to destroy property.

Women have the
right to abort fetuses,

which are a hell of a lot more
developed than those embryos.

Very good. This is the kind of
thing we don't want to get into.

You're arguing
from abortion rights?

You don't like abortion rights?

Any woman with a brain
ought to be able to figure out

a better method
of birth control.

See? This is just where
we don't want to be going.

JACK: Felony murder
is an appropriate charge,

if the defendant was an
accomplice to a burglary,

and she was.

It wasn't a burglary if
her intent was to destroy

something that belonged to her.

Even if those embryos
did belong to Arlene Galvin,

didn't she commit a crime by
destroying other embryos in that tank?

Not if they were abandoned.

No one has come forward
to claim those embryos.

Remarkable issues.

It all comes down to
the divorce agreement?

Yes, Your Honor.

The embryos were
included in the property

awarded to her late husband.
This was a binding, valid contract.

Only if Mrs. Galvin considered
the embryos property.

She doesn't and she didn't.

Then why were they included
in the property settlement?

Because nobody thought to
include an embryo settlement.

This was a formality.

These were Arlene
Galvin's potential children.

JACK: Potential children
she cared so much about,

she sent her chauffeur
to destroy them.

This crime was about money.

BILLINGS: They were about to
be implanted in another woman.

Look, even if they belonged to
her husband after the divorce,

they certainly reverted to
Arlene Galvin when he died.

The Special Master determined that
the embryos should go to Coral Galvin.

The Special Master's
determination isn't binding on anyone.

This is a blatant appeal to emotion,
immaterial to the issues in the case.

We ask you to deny
the motion to dismiss,

and to order the defense to
keep the issue out of the trial.

It's not an issue of law.

There is no law in this.

I'm denying the motion,

but I'll let the
issue go to the jury.

What's that mean?

If the jury decides that embryos
aren't property, Arlene Galvin gets off?

It's possible, Mr. Purcell. The
trial hasn't even started yet.

Do you know how
big an embryo is?

Like the period at
the end of a sentence.

It's not a major setback.

Why are they arguing about
embryos when my wife is dead?

Sarah was not a
potential human being!

The judge was just plain wrong.

Esther Morrow.

She writes murder
mysteries under a pseudonym.

So this trial's going
to be research for her?

The more emotion, the better.

The jury's going to get an earful
about the poor orphan embryos.

Sounds like a bestseller.

Try and close the book.

JACK: Reckless
homicide, manslaughter two.

She does the maximum.

Seven-and-a-half to 15.

I wasn't doing anything wrong.

Those embryos were mine. They were
made from 12 eggs that came out of my body.

Someone else had a valid
claim to them, and you knew it.

A valid claim?

Do you know why she
wanted to have my child?

For the money.

And what kind of life was
that child going to have?

CARMICHAEL: At
least it would be alive,

which is more than we
can say for Sarah Purcell.

BILLINGS: You've
got Sarah Purcell,

I've got Coral Galvin.

It's gonna be fun
having her on the stand.

JACK: Dr. Rutland,

did Francis Curran have
your permission or authority

to be in the clinic the
night of the murder?

No.

Did the defendant, Arlene Galvin,
have such permission or authority?

No.

Now, the embryos
Francis Curran destroyed,

can you describe them?

Most of them consisted of a
single cell, frozen in a saline solution

with an
anti-crystallizing agent.

Did they have heads?
Hearts? Lungs?

No. You couldn't see
them without a microscope.

Do you ever do research
on such embryos?

Yes.

And what happens to the embryos

after the research is done?

They're destroyed.

JACK: Is this generally
considered ethical?

Objection.

Dr. Rutland is not appearing
as an expert in medical ethics.

His experience in embryology
certainly qualifies him.

Overruled.

The witness may answer.

Yes. Embryos are
frequently destroyed.

In 1996, the British government

incinerated 3,000 embryos because
they were unclaimed after five years.

That's the law there.

Thank you.

No further questions.

Dr. Rutland,

didn't the Catholic Church
call that mass incineration

a prenatal massacre?

Objection.

JUDGE: Sustained.

Okay, let me ask you this.

Most of the embryos in
the tank Mr. Curran emptied

were supposed to be destroyed
under your own five-year policy,

isn't that right?

Yes.

So why hadn't you
destroyed them?

There was no need. We
had plenty of storage space.

No need?

Isn't it true that
you and your staff

are reluctant to destroy embryos

unless there's a
good reason to do so?

DR. RUTLAND: Possibly.

Because you're accustomed to
nurturing and protecting them?

That is what we usually do.

Because they are a
form of human life?

A very rudimentary form.

A very rudimentary
form of human life?

Yes.

Thank you.

The embryos were mine.

The Special Master said
so. I knew it. Arlene knew it.

JACK: Did you ever give
Francis Curran or Arlene Galvin

permission to destroy them?

No.

I wanted to have a child.

Had you always wanted to have
a child with your late husband?

Yes.

Except for a rough spot we
had a couple of years ago.

And during that rough spot,

did you have an abortion?

Yes.

It didn't seem fair bringing
a child into the world

if we were splitting up.

But we got over our problems,

and began trying to
get pregnant again.

Until we ran out of time.

Thank you.

Those embryos
were my last chance.

Thank you, Mrs. Galvin.

Some little baby

will never be born.

Some little baby.

Is that how you
thought of the embryos?

Of course.

Not as property.

Objection. This is
not an expert witness.

Your Honor, we're talking
about perceptions here.

JUDGE: Overruled.

Answer the question, dear.

Well, I did own them.

BILLINGS: You owned
one or more little babies?

Objection!

I'll hear it, Mr. McCoy.

Well, they're not
babies until they're born.

You had an abortion

because you and Mr. Galvin
were having problems?

Yes.

Not because a child would get in
the way of your busy social schedule?

No.

It wasn't right bringing a
child into a broken home.

A home without a
mother and a father.

Yes.

But after your husband died,

that didn't bother you anymore?

No.

It was more important to keep
a piece of my husband alive.

Because you loved
him, or his money?

I didn't care about the money.

She cares about the money.

You weren't interested in obtaining
half of $11,000,000 for your child?

No.

So you'd turn it down.

It wouldn't be up to me.

It would be for the
good of the child.

My name is Aaron Fine.

I'm an emergency room resident at
Pembroke Hospital in Connecticut.

Dr. Fine, have you ever seen Coral
Galvin in your emergency room?

Yes. The night her husband
was brought in after his car crash.

She got there
about an hour later.

And what was her husband's
condition when she arrived?

Extremely critical.

He was intubated. We were
trying to stabilize his pulse.

He had massive
internal injuries.

Did there come a time when
she asked you about his condition?

Yes. A few minutes
after she got there,

she followed me when I
went to call the organ bank.

I told her there was a good
chance her husband would die.

What did she say?

She said,

"Please don't do anything that would
make it difficult to extract his sperm."

I thought she was delirious.

Did she afterward
appear to be delirious?

No. I said I couldn't really
worry about that just then.

She became abusive.

She said she was
going to call a lawyer

to get an emergency injunction.

This was while you were still
trying to save her husband's life.

Yes. She got in my way
when I tried to get back to him.

I had to have security
put her outside.

Thank you.

Arlene Galvin's
net worth statement.

$2,500,000. That diminishes
her financial motive.

But she loses sympathy
with jurors making $30,000.

Rutland Clinic records.

The tank's cryogenic history.

There were five frozen
Galvin embryos in that tank.

So?

So Arlene Galvin said she
and her husband made 12.

She only had one
implantation procedure.

They never implant
more than five embryos.

Two unaccounted for.

We found them.

In another tank, labeled Galvin.

Are they intact?

Perfect. Frozen in time.

Great.

It's going to be
a mess, isn't it?

(SIGHS) Yep.

What do I do with them?

Put them back in the freezer.

And nobody takes them
out of here. They're evidence.

I've got to notify Mrs. Galvin.

Both Mrs. Galvins.

SLOAN: The District Attorney
is preventing the Rutland Clinic

from releasing the
embryos to my client.

On the ground that
they're evidence?

Yes.

Evidence of what?

The trial's not over. It's impossible
to predict what issues might arise.

Could you hazard a guess?

Your Honor, we've already
filed papers to prevent the release

of the embryos to Coral Galvin

no matter what position
the District Attorney takes.

Surprise, surprise.

You can't let her have
them, Your Honor.

CORAL: They're mine.

You have to follow the law.

She only cares about the
money. Isn't that obvious?

After the child was born,
how would she treat it?

SLOAN: You're worried about
the life the child would have?

Yes.

So you decided to destroy the
embryo so it would have no life at all?

As the mother of those embryos,

the law of the land gives her
the right to make that choice.

I didn't know what else to do.

I couldn't spend the rest of
my life watching the child suffer.

My child.

Are you a mother?
Do you understand?

The only guidance I have
is from the Special Master.

He said they're hers.

Judge, one of the
major issues in this trial

is ownership of those embryos.

If the jury ends up
finding for the defendant,

we'll be sorry if we've handed
them over to Coral Galvin.

Now you're playing
Solomon, Mr. McCoy?

You want to cut
the embryos in half?

I just want to preserve
the status quo temporarily.

JUDGE: I'm a little confused.

The whole basis
of your prosecution

is that the embryos
belong to Coral Galvin.

Have you changed your mind?

I just recognize the
possibility that I might lose.

That the final judgment
is up to the jury.

That we should all
defer to that judgment.

I buy it.

It won't kill you to wait, dear.

Arlene Galvin
deserves to go to jail.

I'm not sure
Arlene Galvin's child

deserves to be born to Coral
Galvin under these circumstances.

Jack, we're trying to get
justice here for Sarah Purcell.

Getting that justice means
that a new life is created.

A life that may be miserable.

CARMICHAEL: Or happy.

There's no way to predict.

You prefer the
child not be born?

I prefer it not be up to me.

I didn't sign up for the
responsibility of creating human life.

So throw your own case
so the jury won't decide

those embryos
belong to Coral Galvin.

No.

Maybe I should bring them into
the courtroom in an evidence box.

Let them defrost.

Maybe you should
keep your eye on the ball.

ADAM: The other
embryos in that tank...

You show that any of them
were destroyed unlawfully.

The jury doesn't have
to consider the question.

Who owns the Galvin embryos?

Hmm?

We couldn't find most
of the other parents.

The one couple we did
find refuses to testify.

Maybe we can convince
them they don't have a choice.

"Abortion in the second degree"?

(SCOFFS)

Abortion? What are
you talking about?

Causing a miscarriage in a
woman without her consent

is a crime.

The burden is on the defense

to prove that they
had your consent.

What miscarriage?
I wasn't pregnant.

What's pregnant?

Destroying a partially developed
embryo is arguably causing a miscarriage.

It might not fly, but I
will make the argument.

But win or lose, our names
are going to be all over this thing.

JACK: Yes.

Why do you have
to drag us into it?

Because to get justice for
a woman who was killed,

I need someone to
say that their embryos

were destroyed
without their permission.

If you won't do the
right thing by testifying,

then I don't have a choice.

The right thing?

Letting the world know how
our daughter was conceived?

Letting her know?
That's the right thing?

There's nothing shameful
about in-vitro fertilization.

That's not it.

I was having trouble
getting pregnant,

even with the IVF... You
don't have to tell them.

I want them to understand.

The doctor put
four embryos in me.

Two of them started to grow,

but they found a
problem with my heart.

It was dangerous for
me to carry one baby...

So you aborted
one of the fetuses.

They call it
selective reduction.

Nice way to put it.

I won't tell my little girl
we aborted her twin sister.

CARMICHAEL: That wouldn't have
to come out if you agreed to testify.

JACK: Mrs. Lasky,

your daughter

had more potential
sisters in that tank.

There's a reason why you
kept them alive all these years.

Arlene Galvin and her
chauffeur killed them all.

With your testimony,
they will be convicted.

Without it, I'm not sure I
can make the charges stick.

JACK: After the
fertilization procedure,

what did Dr. Rutland do
with the remaining embryos?

He froze them.

He put them in that tank.

And you paid a bill every
year to keep them there?

Yes.

Did you give Francis Curran
permission to destroy them?

No.

Did you give Arlene Galvin
permission to destroy them?

No.

BILLINGS: We'll take criminally
negligent homicide. Two-to-four.

The offer was manslaughter two.

Not seven-and-a-half
to 15 years.

She didn't know anybody
was in the building.

CARMICHAEL: She sent
in a former police officer,

trained in the use
of physical force.

She didn't even try to find out
if the building was empty or not.

I didn't want
anybody to get hurt.

What kind of a person
do you think I am?

One who's criminally reckless.

Five-to-ten.

(SIGHS)

Mr. McCoy,

those last two embryos,

you can't let that
woman get them.

You've got to help me.

I already did.

The whole thing's
going into civil court.

They'll probably
still be fighting over it

when Arlene Galvin
gets out of prison.

How long do these frozen
embryos last, anyway?

Nobody knows.

Figures.