When it was her turn, Jan took each of the witnesses through their background and experience. The nurses practiced for more than twenty years. Each one had worked in medical center hospitals. Nurse Simms had worked in the surgical ICU for five years and could recognize the complications of surgery. Responding to Jan's questions, they explained how they had to make judgment calls, based on what they were told. The question in Jan's mind was whether their testimony, along with that of the clinic's experts, would be enough to overcome a jury's natural instincts to conclude that, with such a terrible result, someone must have done something horribly wrong. At least she closed the trial day, leaving the jury with the impression that the two nurses were competent.
When the jury was gone, Tod motioned to the group. "Come on team. Let's walk over to the Four Seasons and discuss where we are now, without the benefit of the TV cameras. We need to be strategizing about the next few days. You, too, Doctor and Mrs. Moyo."
As Tod and his group were settling down in the Four Seasons bar, Johnny Bob, Claudia and their clients were assembling in Johnny Bob's loft. As they found seats in the living room, Claudia started mixing drinks. A scotch for Johnny Bob, bourbon for Jessie, a Lone Star for Bo, and a soda for Lucy. "Reverend, what can I interest you in?" Claudia asked.
T. J. grinned, "Well, since I'm around lawyers and not preachers, we'll leave the sacramental wine alone. I'll join Jessie in a little bourbon and branch."
Jessie turned the conversation to the trial, "Okay, you two lawyers, the cameras aren't rolling and the door is closed. So give us a candid evaluation."
"Probably the single most fascinating trial that I've been involved in during my entire career, Jessie," replied Johnny Bob. "I never knew that there could be so many facets to this 'when life begins' issue. The cross-exam that Tod did today about in vitro fertilization, frankly, caught me a little off guard. I'm going to have to get Claudia on the Internet and bone up on it. We've got Dr. Thorpe flying in tonight. Matter of fact, he ought to be here in the next hour. I don't know how Tod can cross a theologian-philosopher on that issue. We better be prepared for some questions coming out of left field."
Jessie brought them back to her question, " I want to know what our chances are at this point. We're all going through emotional hell, particularly Lucy. Is it going to be worth it?"
"I can answer that, Jessie," T. J. declared. "I have it from a very good authority that we are winning and at the end of the day, we will win decisively."
Johnny Bob shook his head at T. J. and took a sip of his scotch before responding, "Jessie, my sources are obviously not as well placed as those of Reverend Luther. I would say that we're about where I expected. We're very strong on the malpractice case at this point. Dr. Moyo is a nice man and did okay, but the jury should know he screwed up. As to the clinic, Claudia pretty well put the britches on those two nurses, particularly the second one. As to our defense of the slander claims, that's a little closer call. Dr. Kriegel is one of the best in the world, but Tod landed a couple of good shots. They weren't knockout punches by any means."
"Did Mr. Duncan's cross-examination surprise you, Johnny Bob?" Jessie asked.
"Not really, Jessie. What you have to understand is that in a trial, the home court advantage rests with the lawyers, all of them. It's our game and a good lawyer is always going to score some points with any witness. It's the nature of the system. Now, I can encourage you all to drink up. Claudia and I need to get ready for Dr. Thorpe."
CHAPTER 71
Sebastian Thorpe, Ph.D., J.D., sat in the witness chair with a thud and a grunt. Only five feet, nine inches tall, his bulk overwhelmed that of J. Robert Tisdale. He had long since quit weighing himself since scales rarely went above three hundred pounds. At a recent carnival, the man who guessed a person's weight in return for a stuffed toy said that he was about three hundred, fifteen. His clothes were made for a much smaller man, say one around two hundred and fifty pounds. He couldn't button his coat or the top button on his shirt collar. He was content, instead, to just let his tie hang loosely about two inches below his neck. His one hint at vanity was the way he combed his hair from one side, with the part starting just above the ear so that his bald head was covered with a few strands of brown hair. Fortunately, within less than a minute after he began speaking, most people forgot his appearance and instead became entranced by his words and personality. His voice was deep, like thunder rolling out of a West Texas storm. His smile was infectious, and his blue eyes rivaled those of Paul Newman. He first studied to become a Catholic priest. That was followed by a doctorate in philosophy and a law degree. Now, he was a professor at St. Edwards University in Austin and carried a national reputation in his field, most notably as his various disciplines converged in the area of abortion. Much in demand on the pro-life lecture circuit, he traveled and lectured throughout the United States and several foreign countries. He was willing to go anywhere, any time to debate the right to life.
Johnny Bob escorted the witness through his background. Thorpe kidded, as he patted his belly, that his most obvious credential was a love of Italian cooking. The jurors smiled. Olga Olsen decided that after the trial she would encourage him to drop by her diner the next time he was in town.
Johnny Bob turned to the matters at hand. "Dr. Thorpe, what can a philosopher and theologian like yourself offer on the question of when life begins? Isn't that just a matter of scientific fact? While you've got a lot of years of education and experience, you really can't say when life begins. Right?"
"Well, Mr. Tisdale, I hope that I can shed some light on the subject. Otherwise, you are wasting the time of the jury and the judge by putting me on this hot seat." He swiveled to face the jury. "While I don't want to tread on the toes of the lawyers, I don't think I will by pointing out that even the United States Supreme Court has recognized the extent of the debate about when life begins. In Roe v. Wade, an opinion with which I strongly disagree, the court rightly points out that the debate is one of medicine, philosophy and theology. I might add that they left out science. I suppose that can be encompassed in their use of the word medicine. Science and medicine have certainly aided us in deciding when life begins, particularly in the past two or three generations. But we philosophers and theologians have always been involved in the debate, and what we have to say is of equal importance."
Tod considered an objection to a dissertation on theology, then rejected it in light of the Supreme Court opening that door.
Dr. Thorpe continued to focus on the jury. "We have to start with the premise that there is a God. If any of you don't believe in God, then ignore what I am going to say and just start thinking about what you're going to have for dinner or where you're going to go fishing when this trial is over."
Most of the jurors, even Glenn Ford, nodded their heads, acknowledging that they, indeed, had such a belief.
"Once we concede that there is a God, the next step in our logical analysis is that God has something to do with human life, that he puts us here and he takes us away when our time has come. The question that has been debated for thousands of years is when does he make us a human person. The word 'ensoulment' lurks in the background of all of these discussions. Let me try to give you a shorthand definition of ensoulment. It is that point in life when God infuses the human life form with a soul. It is at that time when the human being becomes a human person. Socrates concluded that the soul exists before it is infused into the body, that the soul is the actual human person. In fact, he called the soul a prisoner of the human body.
"Plato and Aristotle debated the issue twenty-five hundred years ago. It's always remarkable to read their writings about so many subjects and to think that these brilliant men lived so long ago. I'm sure you've also heard something about Hippocrates and what he had to say about some of these issues."
Johnny Bob saw his witness start to stray from the subject matter and he could see the morning being spent in 500 B.C. "Excuse me, Dr. Thorpe, but just how does that all tie i
nto the issue about the beginning of life?"
"My apologies, Mr. Tisdale, sometimes my mind drifts back to Aristotle and it's hours before I'm back to the twentieth century. Usually, it's a rumbling in my stomach that brings me back. Where was I? Oh yes, I remember. Aristotle actually studied fetuses and came to the conclusion that at first there was a vegetative state, then animal state and finally a human being. His study of embryos led him to the conclusion that what was in the womb became a human being around the fortieth day after conception and that abortion was acceptable up to that time. In our church, St. Thomas Aquinas, one of our great thinkers in the thirteenth century, adopted the teachings of Aristotle and concluded that God infuses the fetus with a soul around the fortieth day. There were other philosophers who decided that there could not be human life without rational behavior. Their opinion was that such behavior occurred with viability, or when the mother could feel the baby move."
"Wait just a minute, Doctor," Johnny Bob interrupted, an intentionally puzzled look on his face. "Are you saying that abortion is okay up to eighteen or twenty weeks?"
"Just hold your horses, Mr. Tisdale. I'm not through yet. These folks need to have a little background on this debate so they can understand why we teachers and preachers have a different idea now. Remember that those folks hundreds of years ago didn't have the benefit of our current science. They couldn't look inside the womb. Anyway, for awhile there, Christian theology and canon law fixed the point of animation at forty days for a male and eighty days for a female."
"Did that end the debate in your church, Doctor?"
"Not quite, Counselor. By the nineteenth century, our church finally got it right. We Catholics concluded that life had to begin at conception and God must infuse the embryo with a soul at the moment of conception."
Johnny Bob leaned back and scratched his chin as he commented more than questioned. "Took you folks a long time to figure that out, Doctor."
"I'm afraid it did, Mr. Tisdale. We Catholics may move slowly, but we eventually get it right."
Johnny Bob wanted to wind up this witness with a blue ribbon tied around his testimony. "Now, Doctor Thorpe, I know that you're not a scientist, but you mentioned our modern technology. Does that support or contradict your position and that of other learned philosophers and theologians?"
That question got Tod on his feet, "Your Honor, I don't mind Dr. Thorpe offering his own opinions, but I don't think that he can testify for all of the other preachers and teachers in the world."
"Sustained, Mr. Duncan. I suspect that Mr. Tisdale can clear it up."
Instead Dr. Thorpe interrupted, "I think that I can, Your Honor. Clearly, every philosopher and theologian in the world does not share my opinion, and I didn't mean to imply that. It certainly is an opinion that is held by the vast majority of learned men who have studied the subject. As to science, Mr. Tisdale, scientists have now confirmed what we theologians already knew. With the aid of modern imaging that allows us to look into the womb and the studies of fine geneticists like Larson Kriegel, science now fully supports the beliefs that I have just described. Science has proved that there is life at conception and we are now certain that with that life at conception, God has infused that first cell with a soul. It is no longer a matter of debate."
As he finished, he turned to smile at the jury. Six jurors nodded and smiled back at him.
"Pass the witness, Your Honor."
Judge O'Reilly turned to the jury. "Let's take fifteen minutes." As the jury filed out, most of the audience went out into the hallways to find water and restrooms. The lawyers talked among themselves. Johnny Bob encouraged Sebastian Thorpe to stretch his legs and cautioned him to be on his toes when Tod Duncan started his cross-examination. T. J. took the opportunity to shake the hand of the witness, commenting that he couldn't have said it better himself and offered the opportunity to join him at the pulpit during The Miracle Hour some Sunday after the trial was over. Wayne left Tod alone to, once more, organize his thoughts before he started cross-examination. Wayne was talking to Jan when he noticed Mr. Buschbahm still seated at the top of the auditorium. Wayne ran up the steps and took an empty seat beside the old man.
"So, Mr. Buschbahm, why aren't you out stretching your legs with the rest? I know you've got a reserved seat."
"Ah, Wayne, my bladder tells me that I should join the others, but my legs vote the other way. As long as I can calm my bladder, I'll just sit here and obey what my old legs are telling me. How did you know I've got a reserved seat? That's supposed to be a little secret between me and Judge O'Reilly."
"It's my supreme power of deduction, Mr. Buschbahm. You're in the same seat every day. And no matter how many others are in the auditorium, your seat is always empty until you get here."
"Very good, Sherlock Holmes. If you don't mind, let me give you a question to pass on to Tod. I find all of this quite interesting, and Dr. Thorpe is a charming man. Tell Tod to ask him what happens to the soul when one of these embryos is frozen for several years."
"Good idea, Mr. Buschbahm. Matter of fact that's a very good idea. Thanks."
Wayne left the old man and walked back down the stairs and sat down beside Tod where Mr. Buschbahm could see him whispering in Tod's ear. Tod nodded, turned to look at Mr. Buschbahm and gave him a thumb's up sign.
Judge O'Reilly had remained at her bench during the break, visiting with Dr. Thorpe and the attorneys. She took note of the silent communication between Mr. Buschbahm and Tod, wondering what tidbit he had relayed, figuring that she'd learn of it sooner or later. She turned to Johnny Bob and asked, "Well, Mr. Tisdale, we're into our second week. When do you expect to wind up your case?"
Johnny Bob stopped what he was doing and thought a minute. "Judge, after Dr. Thorpe, my main witnesses will be Dr. Ables, our nurse expert, and Dr. Coates. I may read from a couple of depositions. If I do, it'll be brief. Figure another two, two and a half days."
"What about you, Mr. Duncan? Ready to give me any estimates?" "Judge, between my witnesses and Jan's, we're probably looking at about a week."
"Excellent. We're right on schedule. By the way, I commend you all for moving this case along and managing to ignore the cameras and the media when you're in here. Bailiff, let's get the jury back and get started."
After the jury was seated, the judge said, "Mr. Duncan, you may proceed with cross-examination."
"Thank you, Your Honor," Tod replied. "May I approach the witness?"
"You may."
"Doctor Thorpe, as I understand your testimony, you don't accept the proposition that the human person doesn't really exist until late in the pregnancy."
"Correct."
"Because that very first cell has all of the necessary ingredients to form human life and therefore it must be a human person."
Dr. Thorpe smiled to the jury. "He has it exactly right. It's because all of the ingredients are there that God has chosen to infuse that cell with a soul. You're a very fine student, Mr. Duncan."
Tod walked around the counsel table, walked up to Dr. Thorpe, reached in his pocket and pulled out another object. Although he had no idea what was coming, Johnny Bob remembered the egg and groaned under his breath. Claudia looked on with fascination, having to remind herself that this lawyer was on the other side.
Tod had a very small object, much smaller than an egg. He placed it on the stand in front of the witness and as he turned to walk back to his seat, he asked, "Doctor Thorpe, can you identify this object?"
Puzzled, he answered, "Sir, that appears to be an acorn."
Tod whirled around, and still standing a few feet from the witness, challenged him. "Doctor, why would you call that an acorn? If your reasoning is correct, shouldn't you call that an oak tree. After all, it has all of the ingredients of an oak tree inside it, does it not?"
The priest silently cursed himself for falling into this trap. He should have seen it coming. All he could say was, "Yes, sir."
"Dr. Thorpe, you would agree that if we take t
his acorn, wait until spring, give it some good soil, some warm sunshine and water, before long, a little shoot is going to appear. If we just wait fifteen or twenty years, it'll become a mighty oak, branches strong enough to hold a child's swing, leaves to provide shade on a hot summer day, one of God's most magnificent creations, worthy of praise from philosophers and poets alike. Right?"
"That's right, Mr. Duncan."
"So, tell me, Doctor, if you theologians insist that we declare one cell in a woman's fallopian tube a human person, why haven't you gotten together and made us start calling that acorn a tree?"
"Well, sir, you would have to plant that acorn in the ground and give it the opportunity to become a tree, wouldn't you?" Dr. Thorpe recovered.
Tod looked at the jury, knowing he got just the answer he wanted. "Exactly, Dr. Thorpe, just like an embryo from a test tube, which would have to be implanted in a woman's womb before it could become a baby. Yet, you say that embryo has a soul and is already a human person, correct, sir?"
Johnny Bob rolled his eyes as his witness searched for a better answer and finally replied, "Correct, sir."
"Well, let's just think about this a minute, Doctor. When that acorn falls out of the tree, it's not alone. It's got a lot of other brother and sister acorns lying with it under that old oak tree. By the way, you'd agree with me that acorns do get ripe and fall from the tree in the autumn?"
So Help Me God Page 41
