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"Birthright"
SVU, Episode 6.01
Production number: E5201
First aired (US): 21 September 2004
First aired (UK): 4 April 2005
First aired (CAN): 21 September 2004
First aired (AUS): 23 February 2005
  {{{nNthProducedInSeries}}}th of 502 produced in SVU  
{{{nNthReleasedInSeries}}}th of 502 released in SVU
  {{{nNthReleasedInAll}}}th of 1271 released in all  
Stabler Novak Birthright
Written By
Jonathan Greene

Directed By
Arthur W. Forney

Summary[]

Six-year-old Patty Branson is almost abducted in Central Park while her father reads the paper. Benson and Stabler investigate and find out that the men who attacked her are actually P.I.'s hired by Michelle Osborne to kidnap Patty, claiming she is Patty's real mother. M.E. Warner conducts a DNA test to determine the child's true biological mother. Meanwhile, Benson traces the source of the confusion about the child's origins back to a fertility doctor.

Plot[]

A day at the park turns traumatic for six-year-old Patty Branson when someone tries to kidnap her. She escapes, and the would-be kidnapper flees with only a handful of her hair. Elliot and Olivia are called to the scene. Told that the perp was on a bicycle, Elliot wonders how he had expected to carry off with Patty.

Olivia talks with Patty, who describes the perp as a "big boy" (that is, not a man or a young boy). Patty had encountered him once before, outside the neighborhood supermarket where her parents shop. Somebody knows Patty's movements, and seems to be specifically interested in her. The supermarket manager tells Fin and Munch that the previous week, a man and a teenage boy were in a dark blue van parked near the store, obstructing the delivery entrance. He noted the van's Arizona license plate number. A check on that number reveals that the van was also seen recently near Patty's school.

Elliot and Olivia talk to the school security officer who reported the van, which had been parked in the teachers' zone. As they leave the school, they see the van parked nearby and call for backup. Shortly before dismissal, a boy emerges from the van and mingles with the parents waiting for their children. Cragen and Fin confront the van's driver, and arrest him after he unsuccessfully tries to pass himself off as a cop. Elliot, Olivia and Munch arrest the boy.

The man is Peter Carson. The boy is Kenneth Pratt, who is actually 23 years old but looks younger. Both men are private investigators, licensed in New York and Arizona. Carson is known for rescuing kidnapped children and returning them to their custodial parents. Patty picks Pratt out of a line-up.

Initially both Carson and Pratt refuse to discuss their ongoing investigation, which they insist is based on accurate information. Cragen tells Pratt that New York state is ready to revoke Pratt's PI license, which will lead to Arizona's doing the same. Faced with possibly losing his livelihood, Pratt reveals that he and Carson were hired to return Patty to her real mother. Carson insists that Patty is his client's daughter, who vanished four years ago.

Elliot and Olivia visit Carson's client, Manhattan resident Michelle Osborne. She readily invites them into her home and shows them photos of her daughter, Anna. One is of Anna at age two, when she disappeared. The other is an age-progressed photo showing what Anna would look like today. The second photo looks startlingly like Patty Branson. Michelle tells the detectives that Anna disappeared from a rest stop when Anna and Michelle's husband, Steve, were driving to his parents' home in New Jersey. Steve Osborne is dead, killed in a car crash. Michelle is sure that Patty is Anna, and happily shows them Anna's bedroom all ready and waiting for a six-year-old.

Elliot and Olivia arrest Michelle for conspiracy to commit kidnapping. The arraignment judge grants Casey's request for an order of protection forbidding Michelle to come within 100 feet of Patty, her parents, their home, or Patty's school. Huang is intrigued by the fact that Michelle had updated Anna's bedroom for her daughter's return. Most missing children's bedrooms are kept the way they were when the children disappeared. They practically become shrines, but the fact that Michelle keeps on updating Anna's room tells him that she's confident that Anna's coming home. Olivia then adds in even if Michelle would have to steal another Anna.

A background check reveals that Michelle is clean. Birth records indicate that Anna and Patty were born two weeks apart in different cities 100 miles apart, so they weren't switched at birth. However, Huang can't find Anna in the Missing Children's Center database. An FBI database reveals why: Anna is dead.

SVU is informed of a disturbance at the Bransons' house. Michelle has violated the order of protection, repeatedly ringing the Bransons' doorbell and saying she "has proof." Olivia tells Michelle that they know the truth: Anna was killed in the same car crash as Steve Osborne. Michelle argues that the police never found Anna's remains. Olivia replies that the car had been hit by a gasoline tanker; there had been nothing left to find. Michelle vehemently insists that Anna is alive. During Olivia's exchange with Michelle, Elliot finds Peter Carson in a parked car around the corner. Carson has the lab report of a DNA test on Patty's hair. The report indicates that Patty is Michelle's daughter.

The Bransons insist that Sarah carried and gave birth to Patty. Warner tests a lock of Anna's hair provided by Michelle. Anna and Patty are different children, but their mitochondrial DNA (which is only inherited from the mother) is identical, meaning that Anna and Patty were sisters. Their birth records indicate that both girls were conceived through in-vitro fertilization. The only explanation for the current situation is that the fertility doctor implanted Michelle Osborne's embryo into Sarah Branson.

Michelle and Sarah had gone to the same doctor, Dr. Stanley Norton. Michelle tearfully apologizes for her behavior, and the Bransons ask that the order of protection be lifted. However, Casey insists on taking Michelle to trial for violating the order. Given that Norton created this mess, Olivia asks Casey to cut Michelle a deal. Casey tells Olivia to talk to Norton. If he verifies Michelle's and the Bransons' stories, she'll consider it.

Dr. Norton denies that his clinic could have made such a glaring error. The only way this incident could have occurred is if Michelle had agreed to donate her unused embryos. He provides a copy of Michelle's signed consent form, which contains checkboxes for multiple items. The box agreeing to donate unused embryos is marked. Michelle verifies her signature, but firmly denies marking that particular box. Norton's office had specifically asked her and Steve about donating embryos, and they had declined because they didn't want someone else giving birth to their child. Michelle hadn't had any extra embryos; Norton had placed all her fertilized eggs back into her.

SVU obtains the original consent form, and the lab determines that the disputed mark is a forgery (due to the use of gel ink which wasn't available until 2 years after the consent form was completed). Casey obtains subpoenas and warrants for all of Norton's patient records and clinic logs. Sarah Branson's records note that none of her eggs had fertilized. Instead of telling the Bransons the truth, Norton had simply given Sarah one of Michelle's embryos.

Patty disappears during a school trip to a local museum. Shown a picture of Michelle, the teacher remembers seeing her near the museum entrance as the children left. Michelle's house is empty, but family photos show that she has a beach house in Queens. Elliot and Olivia go there and arrest Michelle for kidnapping. Patty is physically unharmed, but emotionally very upset: Michelle told her that she's her real mother.

Michelle refuses to accept a plea bargain, or to give up the fight for Patty. Casey realizes that while the law and the evidence is on the Bransons' side, the jury's feelings aren't. She seeks advice from devoted father-of-four Elliot. If Michelle is convicted she'll go to prison, which she doesn't deserve. If Michelle is acquitted, she'll keep fighting the Bransons for Patty in a battle that will never end. Elliot recounts the biblical story of King Solomon, who had to decide which of two women claiming the same child was really the mother. Solomon called for a sword, then ordered that the child be divided in two and half given to each woman. Casey says that unlike Solomon, she can't split the baby. Elliot replies that Solomon didn't have to.

At the trial, Patty Branson takes the witness stand. She testifies that Michelle told her she was Patty's "egg mommy." Although Sarah Branson gave birth to Patty, the egg Patty came from was from Michelle. Eventually Casey asks, "You know what Michelle said about being your egg mommy is true, right?" Patty begins to cry and wails, "No. It's not true! Michelle's not my mommy! I don't want to go with Michelle! Please don't take me away!" She asks to leave the witness stand, but Casey says she can't until they're finished. Patty becomes more and more hysterical until Michelle can't stand any more, and cries, "Stop it! Just stop it!" Michelle then apologizes to Patty and says she'll never bother her again. Patty runs off the witness stand to her parents, crying for her mother.

Michelle pleads guilty to custodial interference, and is given a suspended sentence. She decides to move out of state, because it's too painful to be near Patty and not see her. Olivia finishes auditing Norton's fertility clinic records. Michelle had extra embryos, 10 of which had been implanted in other women. In addition to Patty, somewhere out there Michelle has three other children, two daughters and a son.

Cast[]

Main cast[]

Recurring cast[]

Guest cast[]

References[]

Quotes[]

Cragen: $3,000 worth of damage to the car?
Stabler: What can I tell you, I zigged when I should have zagged.

Staber: [Speaking to scared little girl who has to ID a perp] I want to show you something. You see that window? It's magic. Cause anyone that's standing here, they can't see through it can they?

Benson: Mrs. Osborne, we're gonna have to place you under arrest.
Michelle Osborne: For what?
Benson: Conspiracy to commit kidnapping.
Michelle Osborne: Go ahead. You'll see I'm right.

Benson: Something else is bugging you.
Dr. Huang: It's what you told me about how Michelle keeps Anna's room.
Benson: That it's ready for a six-year-old?
Dr. Huang: Most missing children's rooms become shrines, frozen in time from the moment the child vanished. Michelle updating Anna's room tells me that she's confident that Anna's coming home.
Benson: You mean, even if she has to steal another Anna to make it so.

[about Michele Osborne]
Benson: She's clean. There's nothing suspicious. Even her credit's perfect.

Benson: Michelle, this has got to stop now. Okay, we know everything. Anna was on the police report from your husband's accident. She died in the car with him.
Michelle Osborne: No. They never found her remains.
Benson: Michelle, they were hit by a gasoline tanker. There was nothing left. I'm sorry, but you know what I'm telling you is the truth.
Michelle Osborne: I know my daughter is alive!

Benson: Casey, you've got to plead her out.
Novak: Why would I do that?
Benson: Because what happened was a mistake.
Novak: Michelle is uncontrollably driven to kidnap someone else's child.
Benson: Her little girl biologically!
Novak: But not legally. I can't let Michelle off the hook just because you feel guilty you didn't believe her.
Benson: Well then give her a break because she's also a victim. What that fertility doctor did to those two women is genetic rape. And don't tell me that that doesn't bother you on some level.
Novak: Talk to the doctor, confirm what Michelle and the Bransons say and I'll consider a deal.

Munch: Michelle signed that form seven years ago even before she got pregnant.
Tutuola: Which means our Dr. Baby Maker's a big, fat liar.

Stabler: Maybe it's buyer's remorse. Michelle did consent to donate her embryos and now she's sorry she did.
Benson: That doctor pulled that story out of his ass. Come on, Elliot, he was making it up as he was telling it to us!
Novak: So you think he's lying. Michelle Osborne hired private detectives to kidnap a child. Why do you believe her?
Benson: Because Michelle Osborne has never lied to us about anything. Patty is her biological daughter.
Stabler: So let Michelle and the Bransons sue Norton for malpractice.
Benson: But if he intentionally put one woman's eggs into another without consent, we can't just let him get away with it.
Novak: There's no law against that in New York State. And we can't charge him with larceny because stolen property has to have value and body parts don't.
Benson: In vitro fertilization costs tens of thousands of dollars a pop. If Norton misrepresented what he did and put that "X" on this form, then we have him on fraud and forgery. If he did it once before, you can bet that he's done the same thing to other women.
Novak: Now all we have to do is prove it.
Benson: Right. This consent form is a copy. You get us a warrant for the original and we will.

Dr. Stanley Norton: All I have ever done is help infertile couples have children.
Benson: All you've ever done is pad your bank account.

[about Dr. Norton]
Novak: That guy still thinks he did a favor for the Bransons. Sarah's medical records have a notation that none of her eggs fertilized.
Stabler: So Norton just slipped her one of Michelle Osborne's embryos to keep up his batting average. What a guy.

[after Patty is kidnapped by Michelle Osborne and Olivia finds her after Michelle is arrested]
Benson: Are you okay, Patty?
Patty Branson: I don't want to stay here.
Benson: You don't have to, sweetie. I came to take you back to your mommy and your daddy.
Patty: They still want me?
Benson: Of course they do, honey. Why would you think they don't?
Patty: Because Michelle said she's my real mommy. It's not true, is it, Olivia? Is it?

Michelle Osborne: You can't kidnap your own daughter.
Novak: The law says she isn't yours.
Michelle Osborne: Well, the law is wrong.
Donna Emmett: Well, we should just forget about the law and focus on what's right.
Novak: What's right is for your client to accept that she has no claim to Patty.

Sarah Branson: [to Michelle] I know you lost your daughter, but can't you see what you're doing to Patty?
Michelle Osborne: She's my flesh and blood.
Sarah Branson: But she came from inside me. She kicked in my belly. She nursed from my breast.
Michelle Osborne: She has my genes and my husband's genes.
Sarah Branson: Because of a mistake!
Michelle Osborne: It wasn't a mistake. My daughter died and now God is giving me a second chance.
Sarah Branson: Please. Please. A mother wouldn't do this to any child.
Michelle Osborne: A mother would fight for her child. I'm sorry, but I'm not gonna give up until that jury looks me in the eye and tells me that I am guilty of stealing my own child.

Novak: No one here will try and tell you that Michelle Osborne is violent or evil. She was driven to kidnap Patty Branson because she believes Patty is her little girl. And biologically, Patty is her daughter, but you must remember, the law says the birth mother is the child's mother. So Patty is not and can never legally be Michelle's daughter. Now, Michelle kidnapped Patty from the mother who gave her life and from the parents who've raised her since birth. So no matter how much you may be moved by Michelle Osborne's pain, you cannot ignore the fact, she broke the law.

Donna Emmett: The moment that Michelle Osborne laid eyes on Patty Branson at a playground in Riverside Park, she felt drawn to her. A powerful, uncontrollable, biological attachment to her. She knew Patty was her child and DNA proved she was right. That maternal instinct brought out the truth, that Michelle and Patty's birth parents are all victims of an unscrupulous fertility doctor who stole an embryo from Michelle and implanted it in Sarah Branson without anyone's consent. Now, to find Michelle Osborne guilty of kidnapping, the People must prove that she had intent to commit a crime. So as you hear evidence, you must consider, did Michelle Osborne intend to break the law? Or was she driven by a more powerful law? The law of nature. The love of a mother for her child.

[summing up to Casey how it feels to be a parent]
Stabler: I would die for my children and there's not a thing that would change that. Ever.

Stabler: King Solomon said, "Bring me a sword. Divide the living child in two. Give half to one mother, half to the other.
Novak: Except I can't split the baby.
Stabler: Solomon didn't have to.

Novak: Do you think Michelle is nice?
Patty: She's okay.
Novak: You know what Michelle said about being your egg mommy is true, right? [Patty doesn't answer her] Your Honor?
Judge Walter Bradley: Could you please answer the question, Patty?
Patty: [in tears] No! It's not true!
Novak: Yes, it is, Patty.
Patty: Michelle's not my mommy!
Novak: You came from her egg. That is true.
Patty: I want to go now.
Novak: No. You can't until we're finished.
Patty: I don't want to go with Michelle!
Donna Emmett: Your Honor, she's just a little girl.
Judge Bradley: [to Novak] Is this line of questioning necessary?
Novak: Patty, do you understand?
Patty: I don't want to go with Michelle!
Novak: You don't have to, Patty. Not yet.
Patty: I want my mommy and daddy!
Novak: No, you have to stay here.
Patty: Please! Don't take me away! Please!
Michelle Osborne: [stands up] Stop it! Just stop it.
Judge Bradley: Sit down now, Mrs. Osborne.
Michelle Osborne: Patty, I'm sorry. I won't ever bother you again.
Patty: [as she runs off the witness stand to her parents] Mommy! Mommy!
Michelle Osborne: I've changed my mind. I just want this to stop. I'll plead guilty, if that's what it takes.

Novak: Michelle pled to custodial interference. Suspended sentence. Said she's moving out of state. It's too painful to be near Patty and not see her.
Stabler: She did the motherly thing, loving her by letting her go.

Novak: The law has to catch up with technology.

Benson: Michelle didn't have four embryos. She had sixteen, ten of which were implanted in other women.
Stabler: How many live births?
Benson: Besides Patty, Michelle has two daughters and a son out there somewhere.

Background information and notes[]

  • "Genetic rape" is what Benson called what is done to the woman whose embryos were implanted in another woman.
  • The Biblical story of Solomon's Wisdom is explicitly recounted by Stabler (which he does not fully finish) and subtly mirrored in this episode.
  • Goof: When Stabler is out playing with his kids, he catches Dickie's shot and then gives the ball back to him. However, when the camera flips back to the kids, Lizzie's the one who's holding the ball.
  • The song "Fly" by Hilary Duff was used in promos for the episode.
  • When Capt. Cragen and and Fin, pull up next to Olivia and Elliot while staking out the victim's school, their cars and the street are wet from rain. When Cragen and Fin start the foot pursuit of one suspect and Olivia and Elliot chase the van driven by the other suspect, the ground is dry, the sun is out and there is no sign of rain.
  • When Detectives Stabler and Tutuola draw their weapons, there are the sounds of hammers being cocked back. However, the pistols they are wielding are Glock semiautomatics. Glocks are striker-fired weapons with an internal firing pin; there is no external hammer to be cocked back. Therefore, the cocking sound, likely added in post-production for dramatic effect, could not possibly have been made by either detective's weapon.
  • Special guest star Lea Thompson later went on to star in the ABC Family/Freeform family drama "Switched at Birth", from 2011 to 2017 which as the title suggests, is about two families who find out their daughters were switched at birth in the same hospital after one of them gets her blood typed for a school project and the results do not match that of her parents.

Episode scene cards[]

1 2 3 4

Shopper's Choice
159 West 84th Street
Thursday, June 3

Osborne Residence
124 Riverside Drive
Thursday, June 3

Arraignment
Part 35
Friday, June 4

Norton Fertility Clinic
848 Park Avenue
Tuesday, June 8

5 6 7

Crime Lab
One Police Plaza
Wednesday, June 9

Trial
Part 38
Thursday, July 22

Trial
Part 38
Monday, July 26

Previous episode:
"Head"
"Birthright"
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
Season 6
Next episode:
"Debt"
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