BACK MURDERED 5'?m3f When is abortion murder, when is it not? JUDGE -- (enters wearing black robe, crosses to bench, pounds gavel) This court will come to order. Our first order of business is the arraignment of James Edward Johnson. Are the attorneys for both parties present? PROSECUTOR -- (enters carrying briefcase and file folder, crosses to bench) Counsel for the prosecution is ready to proceed, Your Honor. (hands file folder to Judge) The charge is murder in the second degree. DEFENSE -- (enters opposite carrying briefcase) Defense counsel is ready to proceed, Your Honor. But I can save the court a great deal of time and embarrassment. JUDGE -- This is an arraignment, Counselor. You can save your summation for the trial. DEFENSE -- That's my point, Your Honor. There shouldn't even be a trial. JUDGE -- I guess that's what we're here to decide isn't it? (to Prosecutor) You got any evidence, Counselor? (pages through file) PROSECUTOR -- It's an open and shut case, Your Honor. The defendant's blood alcohol level was .023. In this state a fatality caused by a drunk driver is considered to be murder. We have witnesses who will testify that the defendant was driving the car that struck the victim's car. And we have a dead body. We even have a written confession. What more do we need to go to trial? JUDGE -- Good question. (to defense) Counselor, do you wish to petition for the exclusion of the confession? No, Your Honor. The fact is that the alleged victim in this case was not a person, but a fetus. JUDGE -- Counselor? PROSECUTOR -- Your Honor, in this state the law does not discriminate between a fetus and any other human being. I have submitted the appropriate statute with my brief. (points) JUDGE -- (flips pages, reads) "Section 187. Paragraph A: Murder is the unlawful killing of a human being or a fetus with malice aforethought or reckless disregard." (to defense) Counselor? DEFENSE -- I hope you appreciate irony, Your Honor, because the woman who miscarried in the accident was on her way to my client's abortion clinic to have an abortion. JUDGE -- Your client is an abortionist? DEFENSE -- To be more precise, my client is a duly licensed physician and surgeon specializing in women's reproductive health. PROSECUTOR -- He's an abortionist. DEFENSE -- Alright, he's an abortionist. And as far as the law is concerned, this accident produced the equivalent of an abortion. If Your Honor will read the rest of Statute 187, you'll see that there is an exception that applies to my client. Exception two. (points) JUDGE -- (reads) Exceptions. The charge of murder shall not apply to the following cases. Let's see... Exception Number 2: The act was committed by a holder of a physician's and surgeon's certificate as defined in the Business and Professions Code. DEFENSE -- Your Honor, since my client meets these criteria, this exception makes it clear that no crime was committed. JUDGE -- (to Prosecutor) Counselor? PROSECUTOR -- While it is questionable that the defendant meets the qualifications for exception number two, there is no doubt that this accident fails to meet exceptions one and three. JUDGE -- (reads) Exception number one. The act complied with the Therapeutic Abortion Act, Chapter 11 of Division 20 of the Health and Safety Code. PROSECUTOR -- I hardly think that being broadsided by a Mercedes Benz qualifies as a therapeutic abortion. But read exception number three, Your Honor. JUDGE -- (reads) Exception number three. The act was solicited, aided and abetted and consented to by the mother of the fetus. PROSECUTOR -- Does defense counsel have a signed consent form authorizing the miscarriage? DEFENSE -- Your Honor, the woman in question was on her way to have an abortion. She will testify to the fact in court. PROSECUTOR -- It's amazing what a $300,000 insurance settlement will buy. JUDGE -- Counselor! PROSECUTOR -- I'm sorry, Your Honor. But it really doesn't make any difference what the woman will testify to. Many women who intend to have an abortion have a change of heart when they realize that the "mass of tissue" in their wombs is really a baby with arms and legs, fingers and toes, a brain and a heart. The fact is that the defendant deprived the woman of the opportunity to change her mind. And now a baby is dead. We ask that the court bind the defendant for trial and we recommend a bail of $100,000. JUDGE -- (long pause) I'm looking at this statute in amazement. The question of law is not whether the fetus is a person or not. Clearly, according to the law, it is a person. And if you murder this tiny person, your penalty is jail. What amazes me about the law is what constitutes murder. And what constitutes murder comes down to only one question: does the mother want the baby or not? In other words, this tiny human being may legally lose its life without penalty to the killer if the mother doesn't want it and for no other reason. We'll never know if the woman in this case would have changed her mind. But at the time of the death of the baby, the mother didn't want it. And therefore, by law, no crime was committed. A murderer must go free. (pounds gavel) Case dismissed. This court is adjourned while I go to my chambers and cry. (all exit) ©2007 Bob Snook. Conditions for use: Do not sell any part of this script, even if you rewrite it. Pay no royalties, even if you make money from performances. You may reproduce and distribute this script freely, but all copies must contain this copyright statement. http://www.fea.net/bobsnook email: bobsnook@fea.net BACK |