All language subtitles for Law and order S09E06 - Scrambled

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.

Seven, eight.

You're ovary's very supple.

Oh. Are they good ones?

Beauties. At least three more
eggs in those follicles.

- Nine...
- 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.

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

Go pull out some straws.
Mmm-hmm.

What the... Sarah?

Sarah? Sarah?

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.

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?

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?

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
Una-bomber or something?

"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.

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.

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

Excuse me?

Nobody's promised
a happy ending.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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...
- 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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Irrelevant.

If Arlene Galvin sent her
chauffeur into that building,

she's guilty of felony murder.

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?

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.

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?

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.

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.

Potential children
she cared so much about,

she sent her chauffeur
to destroy them.

This crime was about money.

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.

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?

At least it would be alive,

which is more than we can say
for Sarah Purcell.

You've got Sarah Purcell,

I've got Coral Galvin.

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

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.

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.

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?

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.

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.

Overruled.

Answer the question, dear.

Well, I did own them.

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?

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.

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.

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?

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.

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.

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.

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"?

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.