Sarah Mae’s chest went up and down as she breathed. “They was all friendly at first. They had a lady behind a desk and she sat me down.”
“Do you remember this lady’s name?”
“No, ma’am.”
“Continue then. What happened next?”
“I told her what I thought. She said I could have a test to see. I asked her if I had to tell my mama, and she said no, I didn’t have to tell my mama nothin’, and there’s no law said I had to.”
Charlene paused. “And did you have a test?”
“Yes.”
“What kind was it?”
Sarah Mae looked embarrassed. “Of my urine.”
“What was the result?”
“I was pregnant.”
Charlene paused a moment, letting the story take on a natural flow. “When it came time to talk to the lady about what to do, Sarah Mae, can you tell us what she said?”
Beau Winsor said, “Objection. Hearsay.”
“State of mind, Your Honor,” Charlene said.
“Overruled. The witness may answer.”
Sarah Mae looked from the judge to Charlene. “She asked if I was wantin’ to have an abortion.”
“That was the first thing she said?”
“Uh-huh.”
“What did you say?”
“Said I didn’t want no abortion. Said I wanted to keep my baby.”
“And what was her response?”
“She said it weren’t no baby yet.”
Again Charlene paused. This was crucial. “What did you say?”
“I said weren’t it gonna be a baby?”
“And the response?”
“She said did I know what I was getting myself into, having a baby when I was sixteen? And then I was thinkin’ that maybe she was right and all. I was gettin’ scared. She told me everything would be all right if I got it.”
“The abortion?”
“Yeah.”
“Did this lady ask you any questions about your past medical history?”
“No, ma’am.”
“Your background?”
“No, ma’am.”
“Anything about your past at all?”
“No.”
“Did you think about talking to your mama about all this?”
Sarah Mae looked to the first row, her eyes starting to tear up. “No, ma’am.”
“Can you tell us why?”
“’Cause…”
“It’s all right, Sarah Mae. Take your time.”
“I was afraid she’d get mad.” Tears started from the corners of Sarah Mae’s eyes. Her voice warbled. “I was afraid she’d think I was a bad girl.” Sarah Mae put her face in her hands and sobbed.
“Miss Moore,” Judge Lewis said. “Do you want to take a short recess?”
Charlene did not want to if she could avoid it. Sarah Mae’s emotion was important for the jury to see.
“Sarah Mae,” Charlene said softly. “Do you need to stop?”
The girl sniffed and wiped her eyes with the back of her right hand. “No, ma’am.”
The judge told the clerk to put a box of tissues on the witness rail. Sarah Mae took one and daubed at her eyes.
“All right,” Charlene said. “Tell us what happened next.”
“Dr. Sager gave another test, where they look at what’s inside.”
“Did he call this a sonogram?”
“Uh-huh.”
“And that’s where the doctor puts a device right on your stomach, so he can see a picture of the baby inside you?”
“Object to use of the word baby,” Winsor said.
“Sustained.”
“Sarah Mae,” Charlene said, “did the doctor allow you to look at a monitor so you could see what the sonogram showed?”
“No, ma’am.”
“Did he offer to let you see?”
Sarah Mae wiped a tear from her right eye. “No, ma’am.”
“Did he allow you to hear the ultrasound of the baby’s – excuse me – the sound of the heartbeat?”
“No. He didn’t turn on no sound.”
“And when this was finished, what did he tell you?”
Sarah Mae breathed in deeply. “He said I could have the abortion right then ’cause they had a slot.”
“A slot,” Charlene said slowly, just so the jury could hear it again. Implicit in the word was the abortion industry’s dirty little secret, that it was more a commercial venture than a health enterprise. Anything to fill those slots. Charlene hoped the jury would understand that.
“Did the doctor tell you anything about the risks of abortion?” Charlene asked.
“He gave me something to read.”
“What did he give you?”
“A paper.”
Charlene went to her counsel table and removed a sheet of paper from a file folder. She placed it in front of Sarah Mae Sherman. “Is this what they gave you to read?”
“Yes.”
“I would like to mark this as Plaintiff’s Four for identification,” Charlene said. It was a double-sided, single-spaced form that said, across the top “Things You Need to Know About Your Reproductive Choices.”
“You were given this by Dr. Sager?” Charlene asked.
“Yeah.”
“And what did you do with it?”
“Looked at it.”
“Did you read it?”
Sarah Mae shook her head. The judge said, “You must answer out loud for our reporter.”
“No,” Sarah Mae said.
“And why didn’t you read it?”
“It… I couldn’t understand it. I don’t read good.” Sarah Mae tugged at her dress.
“There is a place at the bottom where you are supposed to sign this form. Is that your signature at the bottom?”
“Yeah.”
“So you signed this form even though you did not read it?”
“Yeah.”
“Why, Sarah Mae?”
The girl’s eyes were full of regret. “’Cause that’s what I had to do to get it.”
“The abortion?”
Barely audible, Sarah Mae said, “Uh-huh.”
Charlene took the form and walked it to the clerk. As she returned to the witness box she stole a quick glance at the jury. Their faces melted together into a blank canvas. She saw features, but no expressions.
“Did Dr. Sager go over this form with you?” Charlene asked.
“No, ma’am.”
“Did he inquire into your health history?”
“No, ma’am.”
“Did he ask you how you were feeling about the procedure?”
Sarah Mae hesitated a moment. “He said something like that,” she said.
Like what? Charlene had no idea what Sarah Mae was referring to. They had gone over her story in Charlene’s office, and in the hotel last night. Her answer was out of the blue. And the worst thing that could happen to a lawyer in trial is one of her own witnesses saying something that scuttles the case.
This was a crucial moment, because the doctor’s conduct was at the very heart of this malpractice suit.
Worse, Charlene could not just skip to another question. If she did, Winsor would get the information for himself on cross-examination. That would look horrible to the jury, as if Charlene wanted to hide an answer.
What have you done this time, Charlene? She heard the phrase her mother used to say when Charlene got into serious trouble. What have you done this time?
“He did not get into any detail with you, did he?” Charlene said.
Winsor was on his feet. “Objection! That was clearly a leading question, Your Honor. Miss Moore is trying to lead her witness out of a situation she herself has – ”
“That’s sufficient,” Judge Lewis said, cutting Winsor off from making a speech in front of the jury. “I will sustain the objection.”
Charlene knew she had blown it. Winsor had managed to convey clearly enough that she had asked an improper question, and the judge had backed him up. Now she was in a corner. There was no way out.
“What was it that the doctor said to you, Sarah Mae?” Charlene asked.
Suddenly looking confused, Sarah Mae struggled to say, “Well, I can’t exactly remember, exactly…”
“As best you can.”
“Well, he did say something like if there was anything I wanted to say to him before we went in.”
This was the first Charlene had heard about it. Why hadn’t Sarah Mae said anything about this before?
“Did he say anything else to you before you went in?” Charlene said.
“I can’t remember.”
“The point is, he – ”
“Objection. Argumentative.”
“Sustained.”
Charlene cleared her throat. “When you went into the procedure, Sarah Mae, did you feel satisfied that you had been able to communicate to the doctor your feelings about what was about to happen?”