Eleanor Lindquist hopped out of her chair and advanced on Dr. Gaines. Initially, it surprised me to see Lindquist come forward, rather than Reeves. I’d have assumed that the DA would want to personally conduct cross-ex of the defendant, especially before a national audience.
But it made sense, tactically. One of the reasons Reeves had brought Lindquist on board was to eradicate the impression that the male DA was bullying a woman. When one woman cross-examines another, it improves the optics for the prosecution.
“When you aborted Nova Jones’s baby, it wasn’t due to a medical emergency. Right?”
“I believed there was a health risk…”
“Answer the question, Doctor. You know the difference between a medical emergency and a health risk. Was she suffering a medical emergency?”
The doctor took a moment before she replied. “I believed that her health—”
“It’s a yes or no question. Was there a health emergency?”
“In my opinion—”
“Yes or no, Doctor!”
“Objection!” Ben Meyers was on his feet, pointing at Eleanor Lindquist. “This line of questioning is argumentative!”
Well, it was. “Ms. Lindquist, give the witness time to answer.”
The AAG narrowed her eyes as she turned back to Bria Gaines.
“So! Dr. Gaines, you were aware that your patient Nova Jones was a thirteen-year-old girl. And she was pregnant.”
“Yes, of course I was aware of that.”
“Did you know the circumstance of the sexual activity that resulted in the pregnancy?”
“The rape? No, she didn’t inform me. I didn’t know any of the details.”
“But you knew that, at her age, the law would view her as a victim of rape—regardless of the particulars.”
“Yes. I knew that.”
“Dr. Gaines, you’ve told this jury that you wanted to help Nova Jones, correct?”
“Yes! That was my motivation, the reason I got involved.”
“If you wanted to help her, why didn’t you report her sexual abuse to the police?”
Bria looked like she had taken a punch to the gut. “I didn’t know—”
“Didn’t know what? The particulars? You knew some male had trifled with that girl, got her pregnant! But instead of calling the police, you killed the baby and left Nova Jones in the same situation you found her in, vulnerable to abuse and unprotected! Didn’t you?”
Dr. Gaines opened her mouth, then shut it. As if she was searching for words.
But Lindquist was triumphant, she had her in a headlock. “You are a mandated reporter! The law settles responsibility on you, to sound the alarm when you know or suspect a child is being abused. But you didn’t make a peep! For all you knew, you sent her back for another round of sexual assault the next day!”
“I had to choose!” Dr. Gaines said. Her voice was a desperate whisper.
“What did you say? You had to choose? So you chose to kill a baby and send Nova out, vulnerable for more abuse, is that right?”
She was louder when she answered. Dr. Gaines gave Lindquist a level look. “I had a choice. I could perform the abortion, or I could call law enforcement. I couldn’t do both. And if I’d called the police, they would have made her carry the pregnancy to term.”
Lindquist paced from the witness stand to the jury box, her whole body rigid with righteous indignation. “You want these jurors to believe your heart bled for Nova! You wanted to help Nova, save Nova! But you didn’t protect her. Didn’t tell her mother, or alert a social worker, or let the DA know that a person in the community had impregnated a thirteen-year-old girl. You did nothing to prevent her from being raped again.”
Eleanor Lindquist turned to the jury box. Huffed a humorless laugh and shook her head in disgust.
