Birthright (L&O)

"Birthright"
←	L&O, Episode 16.06	→
Production number: 16007 First aired (US): 2 November 2005 First aired (CAN): 2 November 2005 First aired (AUS): 19 June 2006
	{{{nNthProducedInSeries}}}th of 456 produced in L&O
←	{{{nNthReleasedInSeries}}}th of 456 released in L&O	→
	{{{nNthReleasedInAll}}}th of 1271 released in all
Written By David Slack Directed By Constantine Makris

Plot

When a black female murder suspect with a history of child-neglect accusations suddenly dies in holding, Dr. Rodgers discovers that the young woman had unknowingly been implanted with an IUD filled with an antimalaria drug that also happens to cause sterility in women. This leads Detectives Fontana and Green to a seemingly benevolent doctor who has been secretly sterilizing young black and Hispanic women.

Cast

Main cast

• Dennis Farina as Detective Joe Fontana
• Jesse L. Martin as Detective Ed Green
• S. Epatha Merkerson as Lieutenant Anita Van Buren
• Sam Waterston as Executive A.D.A. Jack McCoy
• Annie Parisse as A.D.A. Alexandra Borgia
• Fred Dalton Thompson as D.A. Arthur Branch

Recurring cast

• Leslie Hendrix as M.E. Elizabeth Rodgers
• Richard Brooks as Attorney Paul Robinette
• Lauren Klein as Judge Carla Solomon
• Selenis Leyva as Detective Mariluz Rivera
• Richard Hirschfeld as Assistant M.E. Brody

Guest cast

• Myra Lucretia Taylor as Lillie Sands
• Stephanie Roth Haberle as Gloria Rhodes
• Karen Olivo as Isabella Perez
• Miriam A. Hyman as Savannah Watson
• Adepero Oduye as Traci Sands
• Catrina Ganey as Doris Creppler
• Jordan Leeds as Arraignment Judge John Gordon
• Phyllis Bash as Louise
• Heather Simms as Althea Sands
• John Joseph Gallagher as Herb Carson
• Steve Brady as Dr. Robert Horton
• Alicia Roper as Claire Porterhouse
• Terrence Bae as Ben
• Haerry Kim as Chu Hu
• Mike Santana as Paz
• Matthew J. Cyrus as Calvin
• Elijah J. Harris as Mohammed
• Venida Evans as Foreperson
• Kim Gambino as Lawson
• Hudson Cooper as Clerk
• Ellen Dolan as Protester (uncredited)

References

• People v. Darlene Johnson
• Joseph Mengele
• Thurgood Marshall
• Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr.
• Buck v. Bell
• California
• Cambodia
• Nazi Germany
• Iraq
• Vietnam
• FDA
• NAACP

Quotes

Green: No wallet, no money.

Brody: Robbery gone bad?

Green: No. If he was stabbed once or twice, that would be a robbery. Nine times...

Fontana: ...that's personal.

Fontana: You need a license to drive a car, but they'll let anyone have kids.

Green: Yeah. And you gotta be seventeen for the car.

Fontanta: Will you look at this, huh? Tailor-made. I expect to be reimbursed.

Van Buren: That is one pissed-off little girl.

Fontana: She's a juiced-up crackhead.

Van Buren: You go call your tailor and I'll take the interview.

Van Buren: First of the month, welfare day, but you didn't get a check, did you? All because Sam, the donut man, called child services after you.

Traci Sands: So? I don't need that check. And I could always have another baby.

Van Buren: She burned and scarred the uterus of a young girl with a drug that caused her death.

Borgia: Arrest her. We'll find the right charge.

Green: Do you know where she lives? We need to ask her a couple questions.

Lillie Sands: I don't care how handsome you think you are, young man, don't lie to me. I know how this goes.

McCoy: A white woman sterilizing delinquent girls because she judged them unfit to reproduce? Eugenics.

Borgia: I thought that ended in Nazi Germany.

Judge Carla Solomon: When the Nazis sent my father to Dachau, it was because people who knew it was wrong didn't get mad enough to stop it.

McCoy: Much as I would like them to, the jury shouldn't have to believe Nurse Rhodes is Josef Mengele to think that she broke the law.

Gloria Rhodes: You don't understand, Mr. McCoy. You don't see how these girls -- these children -- treat their babies. I never meant to hurt her, but I couldn't risk it. The world doesn't need another Traci Sands.

McCoy: We've found evidence that you performed at least 20 other forced sterilizations, Ms. Rhodes. What the world doesn't need is you.

McCoy: So why'd you take it, Paul? Why defend someone like Gloria Rhodes?

Robinette: I could give you reasons -- the good she's done with the clinic, innocent until proven guilty -- but tell me your job wouldn't be easier if people like Traci were never born, that the world wouldn't be a better place.

McCoy: I won't say that.

Robinette: You already did. 'Gloria Rhodes isn't Josef Mengele.' Nobody wants to admit they think she did the right thing, but if they look for it -- you look for it -- deep down, it's there. That deserves a defense.

Background information and notes

• One of the few episodes with the former A.D.A. Paul Robinette (Season 1-3) as a defense attorney.
• When discussing forced sterilization with his colleagues, Jack McCoy mentions a judge ordering an abusive mother to go on Norplant. Norplant is a surgically implanted contraceptive, not a form of sterilization. It is very effective in preventing pregnancy while it is in use, but it only lasts for five years, so it is not permanent. A woman who is on Norplant can have it surgically removed if she wishes and at this point she can become pregnant.
• Not only do the dates on the title cards not correspond with days of the week in 2005, but some of them aren't even from the same year.
• Goof: Jordan Leeds was credited as "Judge Elliot Gordon" but the nameplate shown lists his character's name as "John Gordon".
• Continuity error: Lauren Klein's character's nameplate her credits display her name as "Judge Carla Soloman" even though other episodes list her last name as "Solomon".

Episode scene cards

1	2	3
All China Foods 249 West 114th Street Monday, September 20	PS 105 318 St. Nicholas Avenue Tuesday, September 21	Courtland Medical Supplies Trenton, New Jersey Wednesday, September 22

4	5	6
Astoria Community College Astoria, Queens Monday, September 27	Supreme Court Trial Part 14 Monday, October 25	Supreme Court Trial Part 14 Monday, November 1

Previous episode: "Life Line"

"Birthright" Law & Order Season 16

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