Crown Court - The Right to Life (1973)

Name: Crown Court - The Right to Life (1973)
Uploaded: 2026-01-20T12:20:20+00:00
Duration: 1 h 14 min 9 s
Channel: Jezza

Jezza

21 minutes ago

Crown Court: the gripping courtroom drama from the 1970s and 1980s.
A doctor, and the mental institute at which he works, are being sued for damages by a mentally retarded young woman. Whilst living as a patient at the mental institute, the young woman became pregnant. She claims that the doctor performed an abortion on her against her will and knowledge. The doctor is well known for his controversial views on genetics, which to some appear similar to those held by Nazi ideologists in the 1930s.
Edward Hardwicke stars as the defendant, whilst Lesley Dunlop plays the plaintiff.

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00:00:00The American Pronunciation Guide Presents «How to Pronounce Gunpowder»

00:00:11Now, no one in their senses would strike a match in a gunpowder factory.

00:00:16No one would play Russian roulette with all six chambers of a revolver fully loaded.

00:00:20And yet we allow people with hereditary patterns of undesirable gene mutations to reproduce.

00:00:25We allow it because we cannot stop it.

00:00:27In my view, society has the right, indeed the duty, to take any steps to reduce the incidence of mental subnormality.

00:00:40Dr Paul Richards, well-known and controversial expert on mental deficiency, is defendant today in Fullchester Crown Court.

00:00:48He's the defendant in the case of ABS against Richards and the Bosdale Hospital Management Committee.

00:00:57My lord, I represent the plaintiff in this action, Sarah Abbs.

00:01:14The first defendant is Dr Paul Anthony Richards and the second defendant, the Bosdale Hospital Management Committee.

00:01:20The defendants are both represented by my learned friend, Mr Charles Lotterby.

00:01:24Has the jury been sworn?

00:01:25May I have, my lord?

00:01:26Then before you open your case, Mr Dealey, I think perhaps I will have a word with them.

00:01:32Now, members of the jury, as you are aware, it is unusual for a jury to be impanelled in a civil action.

00:01:39In this case, however, the issues which you will have to decide will almost certainly involve the professional standing and reputation of Dr Paul Richards.

00:01:48Now, this case, as some of you may know, has already attracted considerable attention.

00:01:54And in these circumstances, it was thought wise and proper that the issue of fact in this case should be decided by a jury.

00:02:04Hmm?

00:02:05Very well, Mr Dealey.

00:02:07I am most grateful for your explanation, my lord.

00:02:11Members of the jury, the facts of this case are simple and are not in doubt.

00:02:15But the plaintiff, Sarah Abbs, now aged 20, was some seven years ago placed in Bosdale Hospital, an institution for the mentally subnormal by her mother.

00:02:26While in Bosdale Hospital, Miss Abbs went out to work as a daily domestic.

00:02:29She formed an attachment for Michael Penny, a childhood friend who had worked locally.

00:02:36Last year, when she was 19, Miss Abbs became pregnant as a result of this association.

00:02:40Whereupon, Dr Richards, the superintendent of Bosdale Hospital, performed a clinical abortion.

00:02:47As a result of this operation, Miss Abbs is today demanding damages for assault and battery against Dr Richards and the Bosdale Hospital Management Committee.

00:02:56The plaintiff alleges that Dr Richards performed the abortion without her consent.

00:03:01Further, she alleges that even in the event of the court deciding that Dr Richards did have consent for the operation,

00:03:08that consent was invalid because the operation was not, in the end, for her benefit or for that of the child.

00:03:17My lord, the first witness for the plaintiff is Mr Michael Penny.

00:03:20You are Michael Penny of Brigg Cottage, Badgersfield?

00:03:33Yes, sir.

00:03:34How old are you, Mr Penny?

00:03:3523, sir.

00:03:36And what is your occupation?

00:03:38I work for Mr Rudge of Badgerfield Farms.

00:03:40I'm a tractor driver and mechanic.

00:03:42And how long have you known Sarah Abbs?

00:03:44Ever since I can remember.

00:03:45She used to live at Badgerfield Cottages with her mother.

00:03:47You've known her all your life, then?

00:03:49Oh, yes, sir.

00:03:50What are your feelings towards Sarah?

00:03:52Feelings?

00:03:53Well, I want to marry her, sir.

00:03:55Mr Penny, are you aware that Sarah Abbs is classified as subnormal?

00:04:00Oh, yes, my lord.

00:04:01But she's no more subnormal than you or I.

00:04:03Are you saying, Mr Penny, that Sarah Abbs was wrongly classified as subnormal?

00:04:08Oh, no, my lord.

00:04:09I mean, well, I don't know.

00:04:12All I do know is...

00:04:14Well, Sarah may seem a bit simple.

00:04:16She's sweet, kind, gentle, affectionate.

00:04:21She's a really nice person, my lord.

00:04:23Doesn't that count?

00:04:24Mm-hm.

00:04:26May well proceed, Mr Dugan.

00:04:28Mr Penny, is it true that in November last you were charged before Badgerfield magistrates

00:04:33with having unlawful intercourse with someone of a known mental disability?

00:04:36I made love to Sarah Abbs.

00:04:39That's what you mean.

00:04:41Yes.

00:04:41We're in love.

00:04:42That's what I did mean, Mr Penny.

00:04:44But the magistrates didn't give me any sentence.

00:04:46My lord, because of the circumstances of the case, the magistrates postponed sentence

00:04:49as they are permitted to do under the Criminal Justice Act of 1972.

00:04:53I am aware of the law, Mr Dealey.

00:04:55I was merely trying to make the situation clear to the jury, my lord.

00:04:58Which you have done.

00:04:59Mr Penny, you and Miss Abbs were lovers, were you not?

00:05:04And Miss Abbs subsequently became pregnant.

00:05:06Yes, sir.

00:05:07But I wanted to marry her.

00:05:08You asked permission?

00:05:10Oh, yes, sir.

00:05:10Of whom?

00:05:11Well, of Sarah herself, of course.

00:05:14And of Dr Richards, the superintendent at the hospital.

00:05:16That's the first defendant?

00:05:17Yes, sir.

00:05:18And of who else?

00:05:19Mrs Havelock.

00:05:20The plaintiff's mother?

00:05:22Yes, sir.

00:05:22And what was Mrs Havelock's reply?

00:05:24Well, at first she said it was all right.

00:05:27And then later on she said she'd have to speak to Dr Richards about it.

00:05:29Did she do so?

00:05:30Yes, sir.

00:05:31She said Dr Richards was against Sarah marrying.

00:05:33And Mrs Havelock changed her mind about giving her consent?

00:05:36Yes, sir.

00:05:37And that was after she had spoken to Dr Richards?

00:05:39Oh, yes, sir.

00:05:41When was Sarah put into Bosdale?

00:05:43When she was about 12.

00:05:45And you visited her there while she was in hospital, did you?

00:05:48Oh, sometimes.

00:05:49But I used to see her around quite a bit.

00:05:51She used to work in the hospital gardens.

00:05:52She's got a proper green thumb, Sarah has.

00:05:55And then the hospital found her a job.

00:05:57What kind of job?

00:05:59Oh, domestic type it was.

00:06:00During the day she'd worked for a family near one of Mr Rudd's farms.

00:06:04And in the evening she came back to the hospital.

00:06:06I used to give her a lift back on my motorbike.

00:06:08So you saw her practically every day?

00:06:11Yes, sir.

00:06:11Every day for the past three or four years.

00:06:13Thank you, Mr Penny.

00:06:16Mr Penny, you said Sarah was put into Bosdale Hospital when she was 12.

00:06:21Yes, that's right.

00:06:22Do you know the circumstances?

00:06:25Oh, well, her mother, she got married again.

00:06:27And her new husband, he got a job down in Northampton.

00:06:31And he didn't want to take Sarah with him.

00:06:33So they put her into Bosdale Hospital.

00:06:34Mr Penny, you must confine your evidence to things you know of at first hand.

00:06:41Were you present when Mr and Mrs Havelock were debating what they should do about Sarah?

00:06:47No, my lord.

00:06:48Then I'm afraid that answer of yours was not admissible.

00:06:51Mr Penny, in your evidence to my learned friend, you described Sarah Abbs as simple.

00:06:57What did you mean by this?

00:06:59Well, that she's...

00:07:01Well, I suppose you could say unworldly.

00:07:04My lord, in due course, we'll hear evidence to the effect that Sarah Abbs has an IQ of 49.

00:07:10Now, Mr Penny, it would seem that she is rather more than unworldly.

00:07:15Well, I'm used to her.

00:07:16Oh, that's not what I asked, Mr Penny.

00:07:18Describe Sarah as unworldly, simple.

00:07:20Now, don't you really mean feeble-minded?

00:07:22No, sir.

00:07:24Well, all right, supposing she is.

00:07:26She's still a nice person.

00:07:27Well, that's not in dispute, Mr Penny.

00:07:29But, for example, is Sarah good with money?

00:07:32She's very honest with money.

00:07:33Well, could she handle the budgeting for a family?

00:07:36I think so.

00:07:37Is that what Dr Richards told you when you asked him to consent to your marriage?

00:07:42Oh, come now, Mr Penny, what did Dr Richards tell you?

00:07:45He said she couldn't cope.

00:07:46But she wouldn't have to.

00:07:47I mean, I could look after all that stuff.

00:07:49But you're at work all day.

00:07:51What about a family?

00:07:52Did Dr Richards say that Sarah could cope with children?

00:07:54Well, that's just his idea.

00:07:56I mean, he could be wrong.

00:07:56Now, please answer the question, Mr Penny.

00:08:00Dr Richards said she couldn't run a family.

00:08:02Isn't it a fact that he advised you both against the whole idea of marriage?

00:08:05Yes.

00:08:06But everyone knows what Dr Richards thinks should happen to defectives.

00:08:09Mr Penny, I'm sure you can leave it to counsel to explore Dr Richards' views

00:08:13when it is his turn to be cross-examined.

00:08:17Yes, my lord.

00:08:18Mr Penny, where did you first make love to Sarah?

00:08:20That's none of your business.

00:08:22My lord, is that question relevant?

00:08:23Mr Lottabay?

00:08:24I think so, my lord.

00:08:25I think my subsequent questions will show that it is.

00:08:27Very well.

00:08:28The witness will answer the question.

00:08:30What do I have to, my lord?

00:08:32I'm afraid you do, Mr Penny.

00:08:39Sarah and I made love first in a wood, near where she worked.

00:08:45Did you always go there?

00:08:47No, not always.

00:08:48When you made love to Sarah, did you take precautions?

00:08:51My lord, do I have to answer this?

00:08:52It's personal.

00:08:53I realise this must be very painful to you, Mr Penny, but I think counsel's question is relevant.

00:09:02We took precautions.

00:09:03We?

00:09:04You mean you or Sarah?

00:09:05Well, I did.

00:09:06Oh, what about Sarah?

00:09:07Well, I think it's a man's duty to do that sort of thing.

00:09:11Oh, is it because you knew that Sarah was incapable of using birth control devices?

00:09:15No.

00:09:16Well, one of you must have slipped up, mustn't you?

00:09:18Because Sarah got pregnant.

00:09:20Did Sarah become pregnant before or after you saw Dr Richards about marrying her?

00:09:26I'm not sure.

00:09:27It was after, was it not, Mr Penny?

00:09:29It was after Dr Richards said no that Sarah became pregnant.

00:09:32It may have been.

00:09:33Was the pregnancy deliberate?

00:09:34No.

00:09:34By making Sarah pregnant, isn't it true that you hope to force Dr Richards and Mrs Havelock

00:09:39into giving their consent to your marriage?

00:09:41No, I'd never use Sarah like that.

00:09:43What about Sarah?

00:09:44Well, she wouldn't.

00:09:45I mean, she's not like that.

00:09:48Well, how could she?

00:09:49I thought you said she's supposed to have an IQ of 49.

00:09:51Mr Penny, my information is that deceitfulness is not the prerogative of those with normal

00:09:55intelligence.

00:09:57However, that is something the jury will be able to decide for themselves when Sarah

00:10:01Abbs takes the stand.

00:10:03Now, Mr Penny, you used the curious phrase regarding Sarah.

00:10:06You said you were used to her.

00:10:10Yeah.

00:10:10Now, what did you mean by that?

00:10:12Oh, well, just that I've known her a long time, that's all.

00:10:15Yeah, surely your phrase suggests that there are things about Sarah, things that other

00:10:20people, those unused to her, might find unacceptable.

00:10:25That's not what I meant.

00:10:27You're in love with Sarah, are you not?

00:10:29Yes.

00:10:30You want to marry her?

00:10:31Yes.

00:10:32Isn't it possible, Mr Penny, that out of a deep and, I've no doubt, genuine affection,

00:10:36you are crediting this poor, feeble-minded creature with intelligence and qualities...

00:10:40Sarah isn't a creature.

00:10:42She's a human being like you or me.

00:10:44I stand corrected, Mr Penny.

00:10:47But let us be honest about this.

00:10:48Sarah Abbs, however kind and gentle she may be, she's not a normal person, is she?

00:10:56Now, Mr Penny, you said that you still wish to marry Sarah.

00:10:59Is it mutual?

00:11:00I don't know what you mean.

00:11:03Well, does Sarah still wish to marry you?

00:11:06Oh, yes, I think so.

00:11:09Have you asked her lately?

00:11:13No.

00:11:15No further questions?

00:11:19Mr Penny, when you first asked permission to marry Sarah, did you see Dr Richards personally?

00:11:26Yes, sir.

00:11:27Now, what exactly did he say?

00:11:29Can you remember his precise words?

00:11:31Er, he said he couldn't possibly advise marriage.

00:11:34He said it wouldn't be fair on Sarah.

00:11:36Oh, and he said any children he produced might be monsters.

00:11:39Monsters.

00:11:41Are you sure he used that word?

00:11:42Oh, yes, my lord.

00:11:43He showed me some photographs.

00:11:45Photographs of what?

00:11:46Freaks.

00:11:48Children with huge heads and kids with tiny little heads.

00:11:51Things like that, freaks.

00:11:52And did Dr Richards suggest that you and Sarah might produce such offspring?

00:11:56Yes, sir.

00:11:57Did you believe him?

00:11:58Well, no, sir.

00:12:00Why not?

00:12:01Well, I just couldn't see how someone as sweet and nice as Sarah could produce children like that.

00:12:06Yet, such children are produced, Mr Penny.

00:12:08I know, but I thought Dr Richards was just trying to scare me off.

00:12:11Were you scared off?

00:12:12No.

00:12:14It has been suggested that Sarah's pregnancy was a deliberate attempt to force Dr Richards to give his consent to the marriage.

00:12:20Well, that just isn't true.

00:12:21No. Sarah and I will marry without anyone's consent, just as soon as she's 21.

00:12:26Now, I found that out from a lawyer.

00:12:28But not from Dr Richards?

00:12:30No, sir.

00:12:32When Dr Richards performed this abortion, did he consult with you in any way?

00:12:36Did he discuss the matter with you?

00:12:38No, sir.

00:12:39Yet he knew that you were the father of Sarah's child.

00:12:43Well, I've never made any secret about it.

00:12:45Thank you, Mr Penny. No further questions, my lord.

00:12:48You may step down.

00:12:49My next witness, my lord, is Mrs Havelock, the plaintiff's mother.

00:12:55Mom.

00:12:58It's all right, sir.

00:13:00It's all right.

00:13:02It's all right.

00:13:07Miss Ernst, are you unwell?

00:13:09All right, Michael and I are here.

00:13:13She's just a bit frightened, my lord.

00:13:14She'll be all right.

00:13:15Mm-hmm.

00:13:15You are Josephine Havelock of 21 Anson Terrace, Corby, Northamptonshire?

00:13:38I am.

00:13:38And you are the mother of Sarah Abbs.

00:13:40Yes, sir.

00:13:41Now, when did you first become aware that Sarah was unlike other children?

00:13:45When she was about three.

00:13:47And you didn't send her to a special school.

00:13:49You kept her at home beside you all the time.

00:13:51Yes.

00:13:52And when did you first send Sarah to Bosdale Hospital?

00:13:54Oh, when she was 13, seven years ago.

00:13:57Why did you wait so long?

00:13:59Well, while she was young and her father, my first husband, was alive, I could cope.

00:14:04But when Sidney died, she'd just become too much for me.

00:14:09Sarah's arrival at Bosdale also coincided with your second marriage, did it not?

00:14:13Yes.

00:14:14A moment, please, Mr Dealey.

00:14:16Mrs Havelock, could you be more precise about this?

00:14:19About what, my lord?

00:14:20When exactly was your daughter taken into Bosdale Hospital?

00:14:23Was it before or after your second marriage?

00:14:26Oh, before?

00:14:27How much before?

00:14:29Six months, I suppose.

00:14:30Six months before you remarried?

00:14:32Yes.

00:14:34Well, you can't blame me.

00:14:35I mean, marriage is difficult enough at the best of times.

00:14:37But when you've got a child like Sarah...

00:14:39I'm sure the jury understand, Mrs Havelock.

00:14:41You're not on trial here.

00:14:43No, no, I know.

00:14:44It's just that I feel all the time, you know, that...

00:14:46Well, it hasn't been easy with Sarah, that's all.

00:14:49Well, that's why you put her into Bosdale Hospital, is it not?

00:14:51Yes.

00:14:52It's not fair, really, to ask a man to take on someone else's child.

00:14:56Especially when they're like...

00:14:57I'm not saying that Frank hasn't been a good husband.

00:15:00I mean, he has.

00:15:01He'd do anything for me.

00:15:02He's got a nice house.

00:15:04This is the most important point.

00:15:06When you put Sarah into Bosdale Hospital, did you waive your rights as her legal and rightful guardian?

00:15:13No.

00:15:13Well, I signed some forms or other, but I don't remember that I...

00:15:18No, I was still her guardian.

00:15:20I still am.

00:15:20I'm a mother, after all.

00:15:22Yes, indeed, Mrs Havelock.

00:15:23And, my lord, the question of guardianship of Sarah Abbs is very much at issue here.

00:15:27You didn't raise it during your cross-examination of this witness.

00:15:30As your lordship pleases.

00:15:32Mrs Havelock, did Dr Richards raise the issue of Sarah's guardianship?

00:15:37Yes, but that was when she wanted to marry Michael.

00:15:40And the question never arose until then?

00:15:42No.

00:15:43Mr Penny has said that when he first discussed marrying Sarah with you, you agreed.

00:15:47Well, I've done about agreeing.

00:15:49Didn't seem to be no harm in it.

00:15:51But Frank, my present husband, he said I ought to speak to Dr Richards first.

00:15:56And what did Dr Richards say when you raised the question of marriage?

00:15:59Well, he was angry.

00:16:00Angry, Mrs Havelock?

00:16:02Well, more like...

00:16:04At any rate, he was not in favour.

00:16:06Oh, he wasn't, no.

00:16:08Can you recall what Dr Richards said?

00:16:11Well, he said that marriage wasn't for Sarah.

00:16:13Those were his exact words?

00:16:15Yes.

00:16:16And what do you think he meant by saying that marriage was not for Sarah?

00:16:19Well, that she couldn't marry.

00:16:20Ever?

00:16:22Yes.

00:16:23Well, didn't you find that a very sweeping statement, Mrs Havelock?

00:16:26Oh, he was the doctor.

00:16:27But you're not aware that Dr Richards held rather, well, extreme views about the care

00:16:32and treatment of the mentally subnormal?

00:16:34No.

00:16:35What, you've never seen him on television?

00:16:37No, he never watched BBC Two.

00:16:41You've never read any of Dr Richards' articles?

00:16:44No.

00:16:45So it's true to say, is it not, Mrs Havelock, that you refused consent for your daughter's

00:16:48marriage purely on what Dr Richards had said?

00:16:51Yes.

00:16:53Do you know Michael Penny?

00:16:54Oh, yes.

00:16:55Did you or do you have any objections to him as a son-in-law?

00:16:59No, no, he's very nice.

00:17:00He's sensible.

00:17:01I've got nothing against Michael.

00:17:02When Sarah became pregnant, did Michael ask you again for consent to marry your daughter?

00:17:09Yes.

00:17:10And were you in favour of the marriage?

00:17:12Well, under the circumstances, yes.

00:17:15And did you consult with Dr Richards again?

00:17:17Yes, I did.

00:17:18And what was his reaction this time?

00:17:20Well, he said not to worry.

00:17:23Just leave everything to him, it'll be all right.

00:17:25Did he ask you to sign any form or paper?

00:17:29Yes, he did.

00:17:30And did you do so?

00:17:31Yes.

00:17:32Now, what was it that you signed?

00:17:34Well, I don't know.

00:17:37Well, didn't you read the document?

00:17:39No.

00:17:40Well, did Dr Richards explain the contents of the document to you?

00:17:43No.

00:17:44You're quite sure, Mrs Havelock?

00:17:46Yes, I am.

00:17:48As a matter of fact, I don't read all that well.

00:17:51And he just said, sign it, it'll be all right, leave it to him.

00:17:55So you were not aware that you had given permission for Dr Richards to perform an abortion on Sarah?

00:18:00No.

00:18:01Well, as a matter of fact, my husband had arranged this holiday for us in Benidorm.

00:18:06We was about to leave in two or three days.

00:18:08I knew he'd never forgive me if I didn't get everything settled right away.

00:18:12Well, he was the doctor after all.

00:18:14I thought he knew.

00:18:16So it's true to say that you were completely unaware that Dr Richards had any intention of performing an abortion on Sarah?

00:18:22Yes.

00:18:23Thank you, Mrs Havelock.

00:18:27Mrs Havelock, you say you don't read well.

00:18:29That's right.

00:18:30Yet you managed to read the oath printed on the card that the clerk of the court gave you.

00:18:34Oh, that's not hard.

00:18:35Besides, everyone knows what it says.

00:18:37How do they, Mrs Havelock?

00:18:39From the telly, my lord.

00:18:41Indeed.

00:18:43May the witness see Exhibit 1, my lord.

00:18:48Is this the document which you told us Dr Richards asked you to sign?

00:18:53Yes, it looks like it.

00:18:54Mrs Havelock, you say you didn't read this document.

00:18:57No.

00:18:58Then how did you know where to sign it?

00:19:00Well, I signed on a dotted line.

00:19:01Which dotted line?

00:19:02The one for the date, the name and address, or the one for your relationship with the patient?

00:19:06Well, I didn't say I couldn't read at all.

00:19:08It's just that some words I find difficult.

00:19:11No, but not this time.

00:19:11It's not when it came to signing your name.

00:19:14No.

00:19:14Your dyslexia just affected...

00:19:15My what?

00:19:16Your difficulty in reading, it just affected the rest of the document, the sense of what you were signing.

00:19:21Hmm.

00:19:24Mrs Havelock, what are your feelings towards your daughter?

00:19:28Feelings?

00:19:28Do you love her?

00:19:29Well, of course I do.

00:19:31Why, of course.

00:19:32Not all mothers love their children, or vice versa.

00:19:34Well, I do.

00:19:35Yet you put her in Bosdale Hospital.

00:19:36You locked her away.

00:19:37No, I didn't.

00:19:38She'd just become too much for me.

00:19:41Oh, in what way?

00:19:42Well, you had to keep your eye on her the whole time.

00:19:45I mean, if she was to wander off, anything could have happened to her.

00:19:48She couldn't look after herself?

00:19:49Well, not really, no.

00:19:51Not then.

00:19:52This is the young woman you were asking us to feel should marry, have children.

00:19:58She's a lot better now.

00:20:02When she was in Bosdale Hospital, she was, as you know, classified as subnormal with an IQ of 49.

00:20:07Yes, but that's no reason why she shouldn't have the chance of a normal life.

00:20:11But even if she's incapable of making a normal life for herself?

00:20:13My lord, Mrs. Havelock is not an expert on mental subnormality, nor does she claim to be one.

00:20:19I submit that my learned friend is attempting to put words into the witness's mouth.

00:20:22Yes, I'm inclined to agree, Mr. Dealey.

00:20:24I think that this line of questioning would be best put to the experts.

00:20:28As your lordship pleases.

00:20:30Mrs. Havelock, how often did you see your daughter while she was in Bosdale Hospital?

00:20:34Oh, quite a lot.

00:20:36Quite a lot?

00:20:37Once a week?

00:20:39Once a month?

00:20:39Once a year?

00:20:40Well, I saw her whenever I could.

00:20:43How often was that?

00:20:46I can't remember exactly.

00:20:48Bosdale is near Badgersfield, is it not?

00:20:49Some 20 miles out of Fulchester.

00:20:51It's about 100, 150 miles from your home in Corby.

00:20:54Are you asking the court to believe that you made this trip frequently?

00:20:58I didn't see her every week.

00:21:00During her seven years in Bosdale, did you see her at all?

00:21:03Yes, this year I've seen her three times.

00:21:05What about last year?

00:21:07Twice.

00:21:10Did you ever take your daughter Sarah to your new home in Corby?

00:21:14No.

00:21:15Why not?

00:21:16She gets car sick.

00:21:18She doesn't travel well.

00:21:20Is that the only reason?

00:21:22Well, I don't know what you mean.

00:21:23Oh, isn't it true, Mrs. Havelock, that you're ashamed of Sarah?

00:21:26No.

00:21:26I'm in the court with her now, aren't I?

00:21:28But you've never taken her to your new home.

00:21:30Well...

00:21:31But your friends and your husband's friends might meet her.

00:21:34And, Mrs. Havelock, you say you love your daughter.

00:21:37I do.

00:21:37Yet you're prepared to subject her to the agony of this trial.

00:21:40For what purpose?

00:21:42To get damages for what that man did to her.

00:21:45Are you financing this case?

00:21:46What?

00:21:47My Lord.

00:21:47Isn't it true, Mrs. Havelock, that a national newspaper is financing your daughter's case

00:21:51merely for the purpose of producing a journalistic sensation?

00:21:54My Lord, I must protest.

00:21:55I'll withdraw that question, my Lord.

00:21:56It was a most improper question.

00:21:59I apologise, my Lord.

00:22:01May I proceed?

00:22:02Hmm, very well.

00:22:05Mrs. Havelock, when your daughter is 21, she will be able to marry Michael Penny, will she not?

00:22:11Yes.

00:22:11And do you think she's equipped for such a marriage?

00:22:14Yes.

00:22:14But how can you know, Mrs. Havelock, since on your own admittance, you have only seen her five times in the last two years?

00:22:21Do you think you are in a position to judge?

00:22:23Yes.

00:22:24I'm a mother, aren't I?

00:22:25Your relationship to the plaintiff is not in question, Mrs. Havelock.

00:22:29But your judgement is.

00:22:31Now, Dr. Richards has had responsibility for your daughter for seven years, has he not?

00:22:36Yes.

00:22:36Now, isn't it true, Mrs. Havelock, that your primary concern in all of this is that someone else should have the responsibility for your daughter?

00:22:43No.

00:22:43Someone other than yourself?

00:22:44No.

00:22:46But if she was to marry Michael Penny, then she becomes his responsibility, does she not?

00:22:54No further questions?

00:22:56Mrs. Havelock, when your daughter was taken into Bosdale Hospital, was she certified?

00:23:01No.

00:23:01Was she taken in under the directive of any court?

00:23:04No.

00:23:05So she was taken in informally, then?

00:23:06Yeah.

00:23:07Did you at any time knowingly sign a formal transfer of guardianship, transferring your rights and authority over your daughter to Dr. Richards or the Bosdale Hospital Management Committee?

00:23:17No.

00:23:18Did you knowingly sign any document giving Dr. Richards or the Bosdale Hospital Committee the right to perform an abortion on your daughter, Sarah?

00:23:26No.

00:23:27Thank you, Mrs. Havelock.

00:23:28I have no further questions, my lord.

00:23:30Mrs. Havelock, you may step down.

00:23:32My next witness, my lord, is Professor Esmond Seagrave.

00:23:43You are Professor Esmond Seagrave of Palling Place, Haygarth, Yorkshire?

00:23:49I am.

00:23:49And you are Professor of Psychiatric Medicine at Stonebridge University, consultant psychiatrist to the Fullchester Regional Hospital Board, and author of several books on mental subnormality.

00:23:59Yes.

00:24:00Professor, are you familiar with Dr. Richards' views of the care and treatment of the mentally subnormal?

00:24:05Well, anyone who's read any of my recent articles will know that I'm slightly more than familiar with that gentleman's opinions.

00:24:10How would you describe Dr. Richards' opinions on the treatment and care of people like Sarah Abbs?

00:24:14In one word, abominable.

00:24:17Abominable, Professor.

00:24:18My lord, I have described Dr. Richards as the greatest exponent of pure Nazi medical ideology since Heinrich Himmler.

00:24:24The case of Ambs against Richards will be resumed tomorrow in the Crown Court.

00:24:42Social incompetence plus low IQ tends to perpetuate and reproduce itself.

00:24:59Inadequate parents tend to produce inadequate children.

00:25:02Social inadequacy breeds social inadequacy.

00:25:05Our prisons and borstals, for example, are populated not solely by hard and clever criminals,

00:25:10but also by pathetic social incompetence who frequently find they cannot exist outside such institutions.

00:25:17For every train robber in jail, there are a hundred potential recidivists.

00:25:21Society must, therefore, consider the possibility of breaking into this vicious circle.

00:25:27The means are at hand.

00:25:29Compulsory sterilization for those below an IQ of 85 and of those who are at genetic risk.

00:25:35Governments of the future, indeed governments of the present,

00:25:38should consider the control of socially dangerous genetic traits.

00:25:42Dr. Paul Richards, well-known and controversial expert on mental subnormality,

00:26:08is defendant today in Fulchester Crown Court.

00:26:10Sarah Abbs is suing Dr. Richards and the Bosdale Hospital Management Committee for assault and battery,

00:26:17in that he wrongfully and illegally performed an abortion on her while a patient in Bosdale Hospital.

00:26:23Remember, you are still on oath.

00:26:26My lord.

00:26:26Now, yesterday, Professor Seagrave, you expressed yourself very forcibly about Dr. Richards' views on the treatment and care of the subnormal.

00:26:35My lord, I feel very strongly about Dr. Richards' views.

00:26:37Obviously, Professor, but for what reason?

00:26:39The reason, my lord, is that I regard his views as not only wrong, but socially and moderately dangerous.

00:26:45Strong words, Professor.

00:26:47With respect, my lord, they are no stronger than those I frequently used in the past.

00:26:50No pages of the number of the learned journals regarding the defendant's opinions.

00:26:54My lord, the defendant's views are a matter of record, and I wish to put in evidence, therefore,

00:26:58photo stats of five articles written by the defendant,

00:27:00and a transcript of a tape recording of a radio talk that Dr. Richards gave on Radio 3 in March of 1973.

00:27:07My lord, my client has instructed me to say that he's willing to stand by and, if need be,

00:27:10justify every word of any article, talk or lecture given by him on the subject of mental subnormality.

00:27:16He has no objection to any of this being entered in evidence.

00:27:18Well, Mr. Dealey, I think it would be more appropriate if you put the content of these articles to Dr. Richards when you cross-examine him.

00:27:25Very well, my lord.

00:27:27Professor Seagrave, you have examined, have you not, the plaintiff Sarah Abbs prior to this case?

00:27:33I have.

00:27:34Professor, Sarah Abbs is said to be mentally subnormal, is she not?

00:27:38Yes.

00:27:38Well, firstly, Professor, what is the clinical definition of mental subnormality?

00:27:43I don't know, sir.

00:27:45You don't know, Professor?

00:27:47No, my lord, for the very simple reason that there is no accepted clinical definition of mental subnormality,

00:27:52or mental deficiency, or mental handicap, or oligophenia, or whatever you care to call it.

00:27:56Then how do you recognise it?

00:27:58Oh, its recognition isn't difficult, my lord. Its definition is.

00:28:02Um, may I explain, my lord?

00:28:04Please do, Professor.

00:28:05Well, Treadgold, who was the author of one of the classic textbooks on the subject,

00:28:10considered that social incompetence, let's say, behaviour unacceptable to other people, was the sole criterion.

00:28:17Such behaviour, he says, if it's caused by intellectual inadequacy, and is essentially incurable,

00:28:22is a symptom of mental subnormality.

00:28:24Surely that begs the question, Professor.

00:28:26I agree, my lord, but I suspect the question may really be unanswerable.

00:28:30Now, the legal definition of subnormality...

00:28:33is, my lord, with respect, totally inadequate.

00:28:35Indeed.

00:28:36I think even Dr Richards would support that view.

00:28:39It's based on the World Health Organisation definitions of idiot and imbecile.

00:28:44In other words, it's based on a person's IQ.

00:28:47Professor, could you explain to the court what IQ is, then, please?

00:28:50Oh, yes, certainly, IQ.

00:28:52IQ stands for intelligence quotient.

00:28:55This is a measure derived from intelligence tests.

00:28:58The statistical average for such tests is a figure of 100.

00:29:02That is to say, 50% of the population should have IQs of between 90 and 110.

00:29:08Originally, an IQ was indeed an actual quotient.

00:29:11The mental age divided by the chronological or real age and multiplied by 100.

00:29:17Thus, a child of eight who had the mental age of an average 12-year-old,

00:29:21you would say 12 over 8 multiplied by 100, answer 150.

00:29:26The child has an IQ of 150.

00:29:30Today, of course, statistical methods play a large part in arriving at any figure.

00:29:34Thank you, Professor.

00:29:35You have examined Sarah Abbs?

00:29:39Yes, I have.

00:29:39And you have submitted her to various tests?

00:29:41Yes.

00:29:42Would you tell the court about them, please, Professor?

00:29:44Well, I gave Sarah Abbs a variety of intelligence and aptitude tests.

00:29:49Now, the Wexler test, for example...

00:29:52Oh, my lord, would you like me to explain the nature of these tests?

00:29:55Just the results, please, Professor.

00:29:58Well, as a result of the tests that I performed on Sarah Abbs,

00:30:01I found she had an IQ of 52.

00:30:03Dr Richards arrived at the figure of 49.

00:30:06Yes, but the difference is not significant.

00:30:08I mean, IQ tests on the same subject often show minute divergences,

00:30:12particularly if they're performed by different people.

00:30:14This is one of the reasons why an IQ rating is not an absolute figure.

00:30:18It's just a measurement of the subject's potential,

00:30:20and it provides a guide to the doctor.

00:30:23Nonetheless, with an IQ of 52, Miss Abbs is, in your opinion, subnormal.

00:30:28Oh, obviously.

00:30:29Does this mean that, in your opinion,

00:30:31she is incapable of coping with marriage or a family?

00:30:34Not at all.

00:30:35The patient's character and ability to learn are vital factors here.

00:30:39And how did you find Miss Abbs?

00:30:42In my opinion, she is stable, gentle, and eminently teachable.

00:30:47Can you think of any reason why Sarah Abbs should not have married Michael Penny

00:30:55and should not have been permitted to have given birth to her child?

00:30:59Well, that's a very big question.

00:31:01A lot would depend on circumstances, of course.

00:31:03And what circumstances, Professor?

00:31:05Well, whether the young couple were adequately housed, for instance.

00:31:08Ah, but these are social circumstances, are they not, Professor?

00:31:11Mm-hmm.

00:31:11Are there, in your opinion, any medical circumstances

00:31:14preventing Sarah from marrying and living a more or less normal life?

00:31:18No.

00:31:20Thank you, Professor.

00:31:21A moment, please.

00:31:23Professor, were you able to diagnose the cause of Miss Abbs' subnormality?

00:31:27No, my lord.

00:31:28Was this because there was insufficient time for diagnosis?

00:31:31Partly, but principally because, in so many cases,

00:31:34diagnosis of cause is almost impossible.

00:31:36Is there no known cause for mental subnormality?

00:31:39Oh, quite the contrary, my lord.

00:31:40Almost any disease, injury, or syndrome

00:31:43affecting the central nervous system in childhood

00:31:45can be a cause of subnormality.

00:31:47Yes, this is very vague, Professor.

00:31:49Well, it is the extent of our present knowledge, my lord,

00:31:52most unsatisfactory.

00:31:54I agree, my lord.

00:31:56Professor Seagrave, you said that you could see no objection

00:31:59to Sarah Abbs marrying and bringing up a family.

00:32:02No, none.

00:32:03Provided she is supervised, of course.

00:32:06Supervised? In what way?

00:32:07Oh, merely that a social worker should keep an eye on her.

00:32:10Regular visits from social workers.

00:32:12Yes.

00:32:12It can hardly be said to be leading a normal married life, can it, Professor?

00:32:15I don't agree, sir.

00:32:16Well, the enormous advances in the social services.

00:32:19You'll be surprised at the number of perfectly normal people

00:32:22who receive regular visits from social workers,

00:32:24probation officers, etc.

00:32:26How many times have you seen Sarah Abbs?

00:32:30Half a dozen.

00:32:31How long, on each occasion?

00:32:33Approximately an hour.

00:32:34So it would be fair to say, would it not,

00:32:36that your knowledge of Sarah Abbs and her condition

00:32:41is derived from a total of, say, six to seven hours observation.

00:32:44Yes.

00:32:45Dr. Richards has had Sarah Abbs in his care for seven years.

00:32:48Yet his sole contribution would appear to have been

00:32:50to perform a totally unnecessary abortion.

00:32:53Professor.

00:32:53I...

00:32:54I apologise, my lord.

00:32:56However, I was about to add

00:32:58that apart from my six sessions with Sarah Abbs,

00:33:01I have had the opportunity of studying the case notes on her

00:33:03for the past seven years.

00:33:05Yes, Dr. Richards' case notes.

00:33:08You are a professor of psychiatric medicine

00:33:10at Stonebridge University

00:33:11and a consultant psychiatrist, are you not?

00:33:13Yes.

00:33:13You know, one post is academic and the other consultative.

00:33:16Yes.

00:33:17Well, the fact is, is it not, that you do not have

00:33:19and cannot have a constant contact with individual patients

00:33:22such as Dr. Richards has?

00:33:24No, but on the other hand,

00:33:25I imagine I see a greater variety of mentally disabled

00:33:28than he does.

00:33:29But you must see them relatively briefly.

00:33:31That is true.

00:33:33From when do your ideological differences

00:33:35with Dr. Richards date?

00:33:36Um, I think they first came to a head

00:33:41at an international conference on mental subnormality

00:33:43in Geneva, wasn't it, about three years ago?

00:33:46Yes, 1970.

00:33:48Now, as I understand Dr. Richards,

00:33:49his view is that the mentally subnormal

00:33:51should not be allowed to reproduce.

00:33:52That is correct.

00:33:54In what way does your view differ from that of Dr. Richards?

00:33:57I believe that the mentally subnormal

00:33:59should have all the legal rights of the so-called normal,

00:34:02and these include the right to say no to an abortion.

00:34:05They should have free choice,

00:34:06even if they are incapable of exercising it.

00:34:08In my opinion, yes.

00:34:11When Sarah Abbs was first taken into Bosdale Hospital,

00:34:14would guardianship of the child remain with her parents?

00:34:17Yes.

00:34:17Unless she was committed to hospital by court order,

00:34:20she'd have been accepted to Bosdale on an informal basis.

00:34:22She would have just become a patient there

00:34:24while retaining all her usual citizen's rights.

00:34:26Yes.

00:34:27She's therefore free to leave at any time.

00:34:29Yes.

00:34:29How do you interpret the fact that she is still resident

00:34:32at Bosdale Hospital?

00:34:33Well, she's been there seven years.

00:34:35Where else can she go?

00:34:37Where indeed?

00:34:41Have you any evidence, Professor,

00:34:42of improper conduct by Dr. Richards?

00:34:45Well, have you or have you not?

00:34:48No.

00:34:48Have you any evidence that Dr. Richards

00:34:50has ever been cruel or malicious to patients in his care?

00:34:52No.

00:34:53Now, lastly, Professor,

00:34:54in spite of his television appearances

00:34:56and his responsibilities as superintendent of Bosdale Hospital,

00:34:59to your knowledge,

00:35:01has Dr. Richards continued to publish

00:35:03a quantity of original research material?

00:35:05I don't keep track of the extent of Dr. Richards' research.

00:35:09But he has found time to publish research findings,

00:35:12has he not?

00:35:13Yes.

00:35:15Have you any questions?

00:35:17Professor,

00:35:18you've seen Sarah Abbs on several occasions

00:35:20for a total period of six or seven hours, have you not?

00:35:23Yes.

00:35:23Now, was that sufficient time, in your opinion,

00:35:25to form a clear judgment of her condition?

00:35:28Yes.

00:35:29You consider her to be subnormal, but teachable?

00:35:33I do.

00:35:34Capable of living within reason

00:35:35a more or less normal life inside the community?

00:35:38Yes.

00:35:39Now, regarding your differences with Dr. Richards,

00:35:42now, these arise from a basic clash of opinions,

00:35:44do they not?

00:35:44They do.

00:35:45Now, would you briefly define to the court

00:35:47these differences, Professor?

00:35:49Well, Dr. Richards' views,

00:35:51however supposedly benevolent,

00:35:53are, in essence, authoritarian.

00:35:55By genetic control, sterilization, etc.,

00:35:58he wants to stop subnormals from reproducing.

00:36:01His ideas are not, in my opinion,

00:36:03borne out by present scientific knowledge.

00:36:07Thank you, Professor.

00:36:08I have no further questions, my lord.

00:36:10The witness may stand out.

00:36:13My last witness is the plaintiff herself,

00:36:16Sarah Abbs.

00:36:17What is your religion?

00:36:32I don't go to church much.

00:36:34When you do, which church do you go to?

00:36:37The one in the hospital.

00:36:38It's Church of England, my lord.

00:36:40Thank you, doctor.

00:36:41Take the book in your right hand

00:36:43and read the words on the card.

00:36:45She cannot read.

00:36:46Sarah, the clerk will read out the words on the card.

00:36:51Will you repeat them after him?

00:36:53Yes.

00:36:55I swear by almighty God...

00:36:58I swear by almighty God...

00:37:00that the evidence I shall...

00:37:02that the evidence I shall...

00:37:02shall be the truth.

00:37:20Shall be the truth.

00:37:21The whole truth.

00:37:22The whole truth.

00:37:23And nothing but the truth.

00:37:25And nothing but the truth.

00:37:27You understand what it means, Sarah?

00:37:30It means I've got to tell the truth.

00:37:32Yes, it means you must answer the questions truthfully

00:37:35that these two gentlemen put to you.

00:37:37Yeah, I know.

00:37:38No, I don't want you to be frightened or nervous, Sarah.

00:37:41Oh, there's no need to be if I tell the truth.

00:37:44No, indeed.

00:37:46Very well, Mr. D.

00:37:50You are Sarah Abbs?

00:37:52Yes.

00:37:53And you are present residing, living at Bosdale Hospital?

00:37:57In the hospital, yes.

00:37:59Sarah, do you want to marry Michael Penny?

00:38:03Yes, please.

00:38:05Have you known Michael a long time?

00:38:07Oh, ever so long.

00:38:09It's true, Sarah, that a little while ago,

00:38:11you were going to have a baby, isn't it?

00:38:13Yes.

00:38:14Are you happy about this?

00:38:16Oh, yes, but I've got to get married first.

00:38:19It's not right otherwise.

00:38:21But you wanted the baby?

00:38:23Yes.

00:38:24Was Michael Penny the father?

00:38:26Michael, yes.

00:38:28Do you love Michael?

00:38:30Yes.

00:38:32Why didn't you get married?

00:38:34Why?

00:38:36Yes.

00:38:37Dr. Richards.

00:38:40He refused to give you permission.

00:38:42Dr. Richards wouldn't let you get married?

00:38:47No.

00:38:48Did he say why?

00:38:50He said it wasn't right.

00:38:53Yes, Dr. Richards said it wasn't right for you to get married.

00:38:56But did he say why, Sarah?

00:38:59He just said it's not right, Sarah.

00:39:02You mustn't.

00:39:03But I didn't see why not.

00:39:05When you had the abortion, the operation?

00:39:10It killed my baby.

00:39:14Did Dr. Richards ask you if you wanted your baby killed?

00:39:18He said I had to have an operation.

00:39:21Did he tell you that this operation would kill your baby?

00:39:25He said you can't have the baby, Sarah. I must take it away.

00:39:29Did you give him permission to perform this operation?

00:39:34He said it had to be done.

00:39:37But did he ask you if you minded having the operation?

00:39:42I didn't like the operation.

00:39:45No.

00:39:46But did Dr. Richards ask you if you would allow him to kill your baby?

00:39:52No.

00:39:53No one asked.

00:39:54They don't ask you in hospital.

00:39:57Hmm.

00:40:00What did Michael Penny say when you had the operation, Sarah?

00:40:03He said it was wrong.

00:40:05Do you think it was?

00:40:06Well, it was my baby, mine.

00:40:09They shouldn't have done it.

00:40:10It was mine.

00:40:11Now I haven't got a baby.

00:40:14Did Dr. Richards say why he did the operation?

00:40:18He said I might have hurt it, but I wouldn't have done.

00:40:21He said I might have hurt it not meaning to, but I wasn't honest.

00:40:26What kind of work do you do, Sarah?

00:40:29Cleaning, dusting, washing up, things like that.

00:40:32And I do shopping.

00:40:34You take money to the shops, do you?

00:40:36You buy things?

00:40:37Yeah.

00:40:38I have a list and I take the money.

00:40:40I like shopping because the people in the shops are nice.

00:40:44Can you cook?

00:40:45Yes.

00:40:46What sort of things can you cook, Sarah?

00:40:49Bacon and eggs and fish, things like that.

00:40:53If you had a house of your own, would you be able to keep it clean?

00:40:57Yes.

00:40:58I know how to do housework.

00:41:00And if you had a baby of your own, Sarah, would you be able to look after it?

00:41:05Oh, yes, if it was really mine.

00:41:07And you wouldn't let it fall down and hurt itself?

00:41:10No.

00:41:11Or get dirty?

00:41:12Or ill?

00:41:13No.

00:41:14Thank you, Sarah.

00:41:17Sarah, this is the other gentleman who is going to ask you questions.

00:41:23Yes, I know.

00:41:25Sarah, how long have you been in Bosdale Hospital?

00:41:29A long time.

00:41:30Do you know Dr Richards well?

00:41:32Yes.

00:41:33You've seen him a lot of times?

00:41:34Yes.

00:41:35Is he nice to you?

00:41:37Sometimes he makes jokes, funny jokes.

00:41:40We like it when Dr Richards comes round.

00:41:43Has he ever been unkind to you?

00:41:45About my baby?

00:41:47Uh, apart from that?

00:41:49It was my baby.

00:41:51Had he ever been unkind to you before that?

00:41:55Before?

00:41:57Hello, Doctor.

00:42:00Sarah.

00:42:01Sarah, you must not talk to people in the court.

00:42:06I'm sorry.

00:42:08Sarah, apart from the baby, can you remember when Dr Richards was unkind to you?

00:42:15No.

00:42:16Are you unhappy at the hospital?

00:42:19No.

00:42:20I'd rather be with Michael, married.

00:42:22Yes, I'm sure you would.

00:42:24But none of the nurses or the doctors is unkind to you in the hospital.

00:42:29No.

00:42:31When you and Michael first wanted to get married, did you both go to see Dr Richards?

00:42:37Michael did.

00:42:38And Dr Richards said no.

00:42:40That's right.

00:42:41And what happened after that?

00:42:43And my mum.

00:42:44Your mother?

00:42:46Mum said no, too.

00:42:48Yes.

00:42:49Yes, so she did.

00:42:50But what happened afterwards?

00:42:53Did you and Michael talk about ways of persuading Dr Richards to let you marry?

00:42:58It said no.

00:43:00Was it Michael's idea that you had a baby?

00:43:03My lord, my lovely friend is attempting to trick the witness into a damaging admission.

00:43:07Normally this wouldn't matter, but under the circumstances...

00:43:09Yes, I agree, Mr Deedy.

00:43:11My lord, with respect, my question is relevant to the case and should be answered.

00:43:14Yes, Mr Lotterby.

00:43:16Sarah, now I want you to answer this truthfully.

00:43:19Yes.

00:43:20Did you and Michael Penney decide to have a baby so that then Dr Richards and your mother would allow you to marry?

00:43:28But we wanted to get married.

00:43:30Yes, I know that, Sarah, but that wasn't my question, was it?

00:43:34No.

00:43:35No.

00:43:36No.

00:43:37Now, did you and Michael think that if you had a baby you would be able to get married?

00:43:44Yes.

00:43:45A moment.

00:43:46Sarah, did you and Michael Penney deliberately plan to have a baby so that you could get married?

00:43:55No.

00:43:56I wouldn't do a thing like that.

00:43:58Are you certain?

00:43:59Yes, that's like telling lies.

00:44:01And it's wrong to tell lies.

00:44:03Yes, indeed it is.

00:44:06Very well, continue, Mr Lotterby.

00:44:08Thank you, my lord.

00:44:10Sarah, before Dr Richards did the operation, you understand what I mean?

00:44:15Before he did the operation, did he ask you to sign a piece of paper?

00:44:19She can't write.

00:44:20Not even her name.

00:44:22Oh, she can sign her name more or less, my lord.

00:44:25Did you sign a piece of paper, Sarah?

00:44:28Did Dr Richards talk to you about the operation?

00:44:33He said it had to be done.

00:44:35Well, didn't he tell you what it was for?

00:44:38It was for my baby.

00:44:40Now, stop this.

00:44:41Dr Richards.

00:44:42I apologise for my client, my lord.

00:44:43Can't we leave her alone, my lord?

00:44:45I mean, must she be cross-examined over and over again on the same thing?

00:44:48Dr Richards, kindly permit me to handle the cases.

00:44:50Dr Richards!

00:44:52I'm sorry, my lord.

00:44:55Now, Dr Richards, I will tolerate no more disturbances like this.

00:44:58If it happens again, I'm afraid you will have to leave the court.

00:45:01I understand.

00:45:03Now, if the defendants wish to consult with counsel, I will have a recess.

00:45:07That's not necessary, my lord, as far as the management committee is concerned.

00:45:14Very well.

00:45:15Now, Sarah, do you feel all right?

00:45:18Are you ready to go out?

00:45:22Proceed, Mr Lotterley.

00:45:24Sarah, whose idea was it to start this trial?

00:45:28Was it yours?

00:45:29You promised to tell the truth, Sarah.

00:45:31My lord, that question is irrelevant and unethical.

00:45:34No, it was Michael and my mum, and a man from the newspaper.

00:45:39No further questions, my lord.

00:45:40The plaintiff would have appeared to have answered the question, Mr Deedy.

00:45:44My lord.

00:45:46Sarah, do you want to make a lot of money out of Dr Richards in the hospital?

00:45:51No.

00:45:52Are you honest about money?

00:45:54Yes.

00:45:55And have you told the truth in this court today?

00:45:59Oh, yes.

00:46:01Sarah,

00:46:02If you could have anything in the world that you wanted, anything at all, what would it be?

00:46:10A home with Michael and my baby.

00:46:14Thank you, Sarah.

00:46:15No further questions.

00:46:17That is the case for the plaintiff, my lord.

00:46:19You can go back to your seat now, Sarah.

00:46:21What are you going to do now?

00:46:23Well, now, we listen to Dr Richards.

00:46:26Oh.

00:46:29What is your religion?

00:46:44I'm an atheist.

00:46:45Take the card in your right hand and read it aloud.

00:46:48I do solemnly, sincerely and truly declare and affirm that the evidence I shall give shall be the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth.

00:46:56You are Dr Paul Anthony Richards, superintendent of Bosdale Hospital.

00:46:59I am.

00:47:00You are a doctor of medicine, a psychiatrist with degrees from London and Princeton University.

00:47:05Yes.

00:47:06You are author of several books on mental sub-normality and a well-known broadcaster on medical subjects.

00:47:11Yes.

00:47:12Doctor, did you perform an abortion on Sarah Ann's?

00:47:14I did.

00:47:16Would you look at this document exhibit one?

00:47:18Is this the consent form signed by Mrs Havelock?

00:47:24It is.

00:47:25Doctor, did you also obtain Sarah's consent?

00:47:28Her verbal consent, yes.

00:47:29I also obtained the signature of Dr Jameson, the consultant gynaecologist at Bosdale Hospital, agreeing to the abortion.

00:47:35Did Dr Jameson, in fact, assist you with this operation?

00:47:37Yes, he did.

00:47:38And why was that?

00:47:39He has more specialist knowledge than myself.

00:47:41Is Dr Jameson present in court?

00:47:43I know, my lord.

00:47:44He is at present supervising a population program in Bangladesh.

00:47:47I have a signed affidavit from him, Exhibit 2, stating that it was a routine termination with no complications.

00:47:54It's an agreed document, my lord.

00:47:55Very well.

00:47:58Doctor, would you please tell the court why you decided to terminate Sarah's pregnancy?

00:48:02For the sake of Sarah and her baby.

00:48:05Would you explain, please?

00:48:06In my opinion, Sarah is incapable of a normal married life and quite incapable of bringing up a child.

00:48:11And what do you base your opinions, Dr Richards?

00:48:14Seven years' experience of Sarah's case.

00:48:16Why do you think Sarah is incapable of bringing up a child?

00:48:20Because Sarah, like many defectives, has not only a physical defect of the brain, she is also the victim of a psychiatric illness.

00:48:27Do you mean that Sarah Abbs is insane?

00:48:29No, my lord. In my opinion, she's a schizophrenic.

00:48:32When she first came to Bostell Hospital about seven years ago, she could barely talk.

00:48:38And she was violent.

00:48:41I could not in conscience permit her to become a mother.

00:48:45I'm sorry, Sarah.

00:48:46I'm sorry, Sarah.

00:48:47No.

00:48:48I'm sorry, Sarah.

00:48:49No.

00:48:50The case of Abbs against Richards will be resumed tomorrow in the Crown Court.

00:49:11Walk around the wards of any hospital for the mentally handicapped.

00:49:25And you will see our mistakes.

00:49:28Human beings who, for one reason or another, are hopelessly and incurably handicapped.

00:49:32We cannot cure them.

00:49:33And we must not.

00:49:34We cannot go on manufacturing human misery on the scale we have done in the past.

00:49:39Misery that could so easily be avoided.

00:49:42With certain people, we can tell that the chances of producing a mentally handicapped child are high.

00:49:47These people should not be permitted to marry.

00:49:50Some may accuse me of wanting to take away from them a natural right.

00:49:54A natural freedom, if you like.

00:49:56But it is a freedom to create a maimed human being.

00:49:59No one has the right to be that free.

00:50:12This is the last day of the trial in Fullchester Crown Court.

00:50:27The defendant is Dr Paul Richards, the controversial expert on mental deficiency.

00:50:32The plaintiff is Sarah Abbs, who is suing Dr Richards and the Bosdale Hospital Management Committee

00:50:38on the grounds that they wrongfully and without her consent performed an abortion upon her.

00:50:44Dr Richards, you said that Sarah Abbs was violent.

00:50:48Yes, my lord.

00:50:49Yet there is no evidence to substantiate this view.

00:50:53With respect, my lord, there is.

00:50:54Yes, but both Mr Penny and Professor Seagrave spoke of their gentleness.

00:50:59No, they didn't see her when she was first admitted to Bosdale Hospital. I did.

00:51:02What was her condition, doctor?

00:51:04No, she was about 12 years old. She was unkempt, uncared for, inadequately toilet-trained.

00:51:10She was rather badly bruised.

00:51:12She could verbalise, but she relied mostly on screams and grunts to get what she wanted.

00:51:17Was this due to her mental disability?

00:51:23Some of it, yes, but she was also emotionally and mentally disturbed.

00:51:28You diagnosed her as a schizophrenic?

00:51:30Provisionally, yes. Her home life was unstable.

00:51:33Her father died when she was small, and her mother's attitude towards her varied from, at best, a kind of guilty embarrassment to, at worst, sheer callous indifference.

00:51:43Is it unusual, in your experience, for someone who is subnormal to suffer both physical and psychiatric problems?

00:51:51No, not at all. Many incurable diseases carry with them psychiatric problems.

00:51:56In the case of Sarah Abbs, what particular evidence was there of violence?

00:52:00No, her conduct. She was aggressive. She threw things, she bit other children, broke furniture.

00:52:04For how long did this behaviour continue?

00:52:06Oh, for about a year.

00:52:08And then she improved?

00:52:09Yes, for the past four or five years, she's been very much as you see her today.

00:52:13Quiet, gentle, kind. I don't disagree with the other witnesses' descriptions of Sarah.

00:52:17It's just that I have a seven-year perspective. They do not.

00:52:19When Sarah was first admitted to Bosdale Hospital, she was admitted, was she not, on an informal basis?

00:52:25That's correct.

00:52:26In other words, she was not committed to the hospital under a court order or any other legal device?

00:52:31No.

00:52:32When Michael Penny first approached you for permission to marry Sarah, you refused.

00:52:36I did.

00:52:37Now, was your refusal based purely on medical and psychiatric grounds?

00:52:41Yes.

00:52:42How did you first learn of Sarah's pregnancy?

00:52:45From the, uh, from the matron at the hostel where Sarah was living.

00:52:48The plaintiff was living in a hostel?

00:52:50Yes, my lord.

00:52:51Well, perhaps I should explain. We have a house in the hospital grounds.

00:52:55We use this as a hostel to house high-grade defectives who go out to work.

00:52:59It's, uh, well, it's quite common procedure these days in many hospitals for the subnormal.

00:53:04When Sarah's pregnancy was established, did Michael Penny come to see you again?

00:53:07Yes, and this time he said that I just couldn't refuse to allow he and Sarah to marry.

00:53:12But I did.

00:53:14Your refusal, it wasn't personal, was it?

00:53:16Oh, good heavens, no.

00:53:17You have no personal objections to Michael Penny?

00:53:19Well, none at all. Quite the reverse, in fact. I, he seems a very pleasant, hard-working young man.

00:53:23I'd have no objection to his marrying my own daughter.

00:53:26Mrs. Havelock, uh, Sarah's mother, says that you obtained her signature on a consent form for her daughter's abortion

00:53:32without explaining to her the, uh, the nature of the document she was signing.

00:53:36Oh, she is mistaken. In my opinion, people don't usually sign forms

00:53:40unless they have some idea of what they're signing for.

00:53:43Sarah has said in evidence that you didn't ask her permission to perform the abortion.

00:53:48Well, she is mistaken.

00:53:49Did you formally ask for and obtain Sarah's verbal consent?

00:53:53Yes. At least I thought I had.

00:53:55What do you mean, Dr. Richards?

00:53:57Well, I explained the situation to Sarah, my lord. I gave her my reasons as to why she must be aborted.

00:54:02She said yes, and I thought she had understood. Apparently she had not.

00:54:06It's, uh, it's one of the problems one always has in dealing with the subnormal, particularly someone like Sarah.

00:54:12Oh, why particularly Sarah?

00:54:14Because she is, uh, a socially acceptable defective.

00:54:18And because she can verbalize well for someone of her IQ, one tends to forget how limited her understanding is.

00:54:24Thank you, Doctor. No further questions.

00:54:29Dr. Richards, when you affirmed, you said you were an atheist, did you not?

00:54:33That's correct.

00:54:34How would you define an atheist?

00:54:36Or someone that does not believe in a god.

00:54:39Doesn't that also imply someone who doesn't believe in the sanctity of human life?

00:54:43I wouldn't have said so.

00:54:46Because of your television appearances and your articles, your views on many subjects are widely known.

00:54:51Your politics, for example. You're a communist, are you not?

00:54:54A Marxist.

00:54:55My lord, this is absurd. How could the defendant's political views have any bearing on a case like this?

00:55:00I'll withdraw the question, my lord.

00:55:04Dr. Richards, you said in evidence, did you not, and I quote,

00:55:07I'd have no objections to Michael Penny marrying my own daughter.

00:55:10Yes.

00:55:12Do you have a daughter, Dr. Richards?

00:55:14Well, no.

00:55:15Do you have any children, in fact?

00:55:16No.

00:55:17So, it was rather a hollow recommendation, was it not?

00:55:22Doctor, in one of your articles, you give us your reason for your lifelong interest in mental subnormality, the case of your half-sister.

00:55:31Lord, my client is on, is charged, er, my client is on trial for his conduct, not for that of his family.

00:55:39My lord, I submit that Dr. Richards' motivation is of the greatest importance in this case.

00:55:45I think the defendant should answer the question.

00:55:48Very well, my lord.

00:55:50Doctor, it is true, is it not, that your half-sister died in a home for the mentally subnormal?

00:55:54Yes.

00:55:55How old was she when she died?

00:55:56Fourteen.

00:55:58How old were you at the time?

00:55:59I was, er, nine.

00:56:01And your half-sister was subnormal?

00:56:03Yes.

00:56:04Severely subnormal?

00:56:05Yes, she, er, well, she was bedridden, she was incontinent, speechless, well, she was a vegetable.

00:56:11And you visited her regularly in hospital, did you?

00:56:13Yes, my mother and I did, my, my father was too ashamed.

00:56:17You say in your article that her subnormality was due to a genetic defect.

00:56:22Yes.

00:56:23Why you have no children, Doctor?

00:56:24Yes, there is a danger that I could pass on the recessive gene through my children to future generations.

00:56:30I don't consider this an acceptable risk.

00:56:33Yeah, this would explain, would it not, Doctor, what has been called your obsessive preoccupation with the subject.

00:56:38Well, I would put it rather differently.

00:56:40How would you put it, Doctor?

00:56:42Well, I, I have been fortunate enough to gain the knowledge to control my heredity.

00:56:46And since, er, everyone cannot specialize in mental subnormality and society must have some way to control its own, er, future, I see no alternative to strict genetic control.

00:56:58The Nazis attempted the same thing, did they not?

00:57:00No, sir, the Nazis killed mental defectives.

00:57:03They made no attempt to, real attempt to reduce the incidence of subnormality.

00:57:07I put it to you, Doctor, that in the case of Sarah Abbs, your personal and very understandable obsession with this subject has blinded your judgment.

00:57:14No, sir.

00:57:15And it's true, is it not, that even within your own profession your views are regarded as, well, controversial, to put it no more strongly than that.

00:57:21Well, many doctors are unwilling to follow the logic of necessity.

00:57:25But is this logic not in itself defective?

00:57:28What do you mean?

00:57:29Well, is it not an accepted medical fact, Doctor, that a large percentage of subnormals are infertile and could not produce offspring anyway?

00:57:36Yeah, that's perfectly true, but many do reproduce Sarah, for example.

00:57:39And is it not also true that many types of subnormality are not inheritable?

00:57:43Yes.

00:57:45Is it not true that the odds against, say, a Mongol giving birth to another Mongol are statistically enormous?

00:57:49Yes, that's quite correct, but the risk is still twice as great as it would be with a normal parent.

00:57:56When you performed this abortion on Sarah, did you examine the fetus?

00:58:00I did.

00:58:02And did this fetus show any abnormalities?

00:58:03No.

00:58:05How many weeks pregnant was Sarah at the time?

00:58:07About nine weeks.

00:58:09Could you have told very much from a nine-week-old fetus?

00:58:11Not very much.

00:58:13So it's possible, is it not, Doctor, that you have taken the life of a perfectly normal child?

00:58:17Yes, it is possible.

00:58:19You have a potentially normal IQ.

00:58:20Perhaps, but who is to say?

00:58:22Surely, Doctor, you're the expert.

00:58:24I'm afraid it's not as simple as that.

00:58:26Could you explain, Doctor?

00:58:28Well, mental subnormality, my lord, is a result of many factors.

00:58:32Nature and nurture, as the textbooks put it.

00:58:34That is to say, hereditary and physical influences on the one hand, environmental factors on the other.

00:58:38Now, I aborted Sarah Abbs not just for genetic reasons, though with her heredity she might well have produced a defective child.

00:58:46Now, I aborted her because, in my opinion, she is quite incapable of bringing up any child.

00:58:50On what do you base that opinion, Doctor?

00:58:52On fact, my lord.

00:58:54Fact which is not at present clear to me.

00:58:56Well, ask any mother, my lord.

00:58:58I mean, bringing up a baby is a complex and full-time job.

00:59:02Babies have illnesses, their sleep patterns differ from their parents, they tea, they have to be toilet trained, taught the rudiments of social behaviour, etc.

00:59:09Sometimes it's hard enough for a normal mother to cope. How would Sarah manage?

00:59:15Doctor, are all people of a low IQ put into hospitals?

00:59:18No, of course not.

00:59:19It is true, is it not that many people of a low IQ are socially acceptable, perfectly respectable people who bring up families quite adequately?

00:59:27Well, it depends what you mean by a low IQ.

00:59:29Well, below 100, that's normal, is it not?

00:59:31Yes, but Sarah has an IQ of 49.

00:59:35Professor Seagrave tested her and found it to be 52.

00:59:37Yes, but as the professor pointed out, three points in an IQ test is neither here nor there.

00:59:42What about Michael Penney's IQ?

00:59:45I don't know, I've never tested it.

00:59:47You're evading the question, Doctor.

00:59:49Well, let us say I'm prepared to accept that Michael Penney's IQ is higher than 49.

00:59:53Higher than 52?

00:59:54Very well, higher than 52.

00:59:56Doctor, would you agree that marriage is a partnership?

00:59:59Yes.

01:00:00Well, with Michael Penney, whom you've admitted is of a higher IQ than the plaintiff,

01:00:03are you saying that they could not have brought up a child between them?

01:00:07Yes, but Michael Penney has to earn a living.

01:00:09He wouldn't be there all the time.

01:00:11Sarah would be left to cope with circumstances which she's simply not equipped to cope with.

01:00:15That is an assumption, Doctor.

01:00:17It's common sense, sir.

01:00:19And what would happen when they produced other children?

01:00:21They might not produce any more children.

01:00:23Well, who's making the assumptions now?

01:00:24So, if I understand you correctly, Doctor, you are saying that Sarah Abbs would have made a bad mother?

01:00:31No. An inadequate mother.

01:00:33Hmm.

01:00:35Are you familiar with the recent report on inadequate mothers compiled by the Salvation Army?

01:00:39Yes.

01:00:40Well, the figures show, do they not, that inadequate mothers of subnormal IQ

01:00:45were more easily trainable in the craft of motherhood than those women of normal or even high IQ?

01:00:50Yes.

01:00:51Surely it follows from this, does it not, Doctor, that Sarah Abbs is trainable in the craft of motherhood?

01:00:57Trainable, yes, but I contend that with her low IQ and her mental and physical disabilities,

01:01:03she's quite unable to cope with married life and motherhood.

01:01:07You seem determined to have it both ways, Doctor.

01:01:09Oh, good God. Can't you get it into your head?

01:01:11Sarah is a cripple. An intellectual, emotional and mental cripple.

01:01:14But it's not her fault.

01:01:17But would you like to have on your conscience the fact that you left her to bring up a baby?

01:01:21It's not my conscience that's on trial here, Doctor. It's yours.

01:01:27You said, did you not, that you obtained Sarah's verbal consent to this abortion?

01:01:31Yes.

01:01:32How long have you been dealing with the mentally subnormal?

01:01:34About 20 years.

01:01:35Have you had much difficulty in the past in making people of an IQ of around 50 understand you?

01:01:39It depends what you want to explain.

01:01:42Well, as the jury will have seen, my learned friend and I found remarkably few problems in getting Sarah to understand our problems, our questions.

01:01:52Doctor, I put it to you that you had no intention of allowing Sarah to refuse this abortion.

01:01:58That's not true.

01:01:59And I put it to you that you did not ask for her permission.

01:02:02And I also put it to you that you told her that it was necessary for you to operate, which is quite a different thing.

01:02:06I asked Sarah.

01:02:07But did you give her an opportunity to refuse?

01:02:11Yes, I thought I had.

01:02:13And what about her mother?

01:02:14Mrs. Havelock said that she didn't even know what she was signing.

01:02:18She did. She can read anyway, can't she?

01:02:20Not very well, it seems.

01:02:21Well, she wouldn't sign something she didn't understand. People don't.

01:02:24But they do, Doctor.

01:02:26That's how we lawyers make a living.

01:02:29Now, my conscience is clear.

01:02:31Is it, Doctor?

01:02:32Or have you destroyed a child's life and perhaps a woman's chance of happiness all for the sake of some dubious theory that you happen to hold dear?

01:02:41Well, what would you have me do, sir?

01:02:43The court is not concerned with my opinions, Doctor.

01:02:45Well, you're lucky. I was faced with a choice.

01:02:47I had to make a decision, either to let Sarah have her baby or to terminate the pregnancy.

01:02:52It would have been easy, believe me, so easy to have done nothing, to wash my hands of the whole thing.

01:02:57And perhaps in ten or twelve years' time, or maybe sooner, Sarah might have had to come back to the hospital with her own child, just as she was once brought there herself.

01:03:06But that might never have happened, Doctor.

01:03:08Perhaps, but I'm not concerned with neat legal possibilities.

01:03:12I was responsible for a baby, another human being.

01:03:15I'm sure the court is fully aware of that fact, Doctor.

01:03:17Well, perhaps the court might like to consider this. Sarah is gentle and even good with children, other people's children.

01:03:26But every night she comes home to our hostel, her responsibilities are nil.

01:03:30But with children of her own, she would have them with her all the time.

01:03:34They would be her responsibility.

01:03:36And children can be, can be fretful, they can be irritable.

01:03:39Irritable.

01:03:41Now, what would happen if Sarah was tired and worried and irritable herself, with two or maybe three small children at her heels?

01:03:48Well, we know what your solution was, Doctor.

01:03:51Yes.

01:03:53I wish I could be sure it was the right one.

01:03:55Do you mean you have doubts?

01:03:57Oh, for heaven's sake, of course I have.

01:04:00No further questions, my lord.

01:04:02Dr. Richards, you have been connected with the problems of subnormality for twenty years, have you not?

01:04:07Yes.

01:04:08During that time, has there ever been, to your knowledge, any complaint about your professional conduct?

01:04:12No, sir.

01:04:14When you performed the abortion on Sarah Abbs, what was your prime consideration?

01:04:18Well, there were two.

01:04:20Now, what were they?

01:04:22Well, the health and welfare of the patient, Sarah Abbs, and the health and welfare of her baby.

01:04:26Was your decision influenced in any way by your political or religious views or lack of them?

01:04:31No.

01:04:32If you were faced with the same problem again, Doctor, would you make the same decision?

01:04:38Yes.

01:04:40Thank you, Doctor.

01:04:42No further questions, my lord.

01:04:44You may stand down, Doctor.

01:05:02You are Sir Stanley Freeman of Swainfolk Manor, Grimsdyke, near Fulchester.

01:05:16I am.

01:05:17You are chairman of the Bosdale Hospital Management Committee.

01:05:20I am.

01:05:21You have been superintendent in this case with Dr. Richards.

01:05:23Yes, sir.

01:05:24Sir Stanley, how long has Dr. Richards been superintendent of Bosdale Hospital?

01:05:28Nine years.

01:05:30Has there ever been any complaint about his conduct prior to this?

01:05:33No, sir.

01:05:34Does Dr. Richards retain the complete confidence of the management committee?

01:05:38He does indeed, sir.

01:05:40Sir Stanley, until the start of this legal action, had you, to your knowledge, ever had any dealings with Sarah Abbs, Mrs. Havelock, or Michael Penny?

01:05:48No, sir.

01:05:50Thank you, Sir Stanley. No further questions.

01:05:52Sir Stanley, you've known Dr. Richards for nine years.

01:05:55Yes.

01:05:56How would you describe him?

01:05:58Describe him?

01:05:59Well, is he a man of principle?

01:06:01Yes.

01:06:02Intended man?

01:06:03Determined?

01:06:04Yes.

01:06:05Very determined.

01:06:06Is he given to changing his mind?

01:06:08No.

01:06:09When Dr. Richards makes up his mind, he's usually quite, um...

01:06:13Intransigent?

01:06:14Firm.

01:06:17It would be true to say, Sir Stanley, that once Dr. Richards gets to be in his bonnet about something, he doesn't let it go in a hurry.

01:06:23I don't understand what you mean.

01:06:26When Dr. Richards applied for the job as superintendent at Bosdale Hospital, had his career as a television personality and broadcaster begun?

01:06:33No, I think that began four years ago.

01:06:36Sir, when the management committee appointed Dr. Richards, they had no idea of his political or ethical beliefs?

01:06:42No.

01:06:43I don't recall doing so.

01:06:46You were therefore unaware that he was an atheist, a Marxist and a holder of some well.

01:06:51To put it kindly, rather bizarre views on the control of mental disability in the community.

01:06:56He was not questioned about his religion or his politics.

01:06:59In your opinion, Sir Stanley, if your committee had known of Dr. Richards' beliefs at the time, would he have got the job?

01:07:05My lord, I don't see how the defendant could possibly answer that question.

01:07:09I quite agree.

01:07:11Well, I withdraw the question, my lord. No further questions.

01:07:15And that concludes the case of the defense, my lord.

01:07:18Very well, when you're ready, you may make your final address to the jury.

01:07:23My lord, members of the jury, I'm sure we all of us sympathize with the plight of this young girl who is mentally subnormal.

01:07:31We all of us sympathize, but I wonder how many of us would have the strength, the patience, the understanding, the knowledge to take on the responsibility for her well-being.

01:07:43Well, certainly not her mother who, because she couldn't look after her, placed Sarah in Bosdale Hospital and hasn't seen her more than five times in the past two years.

01:07:51However, there is one person here who doesn't stop at sympathy, who has taught and lovingly cared for Sarah for seven years, until she's emerged from a violent, screaming, schizophrenic, who could barely talk except in grunts, to the girl you've come to know in this courtroom.

01:08:11And it is this dedicated man, Dr. Paul Richards, who is on trial and whose integrity is being placed in doubt.

01:08:22And Dr. Richards has testified that he believed the abortion was necessary and that Sarah and her mother had given their consent.

01:08:29And ladies and gentlemen, can there be any doubt that Dr. Richards' uppermost thought was what was best for Sarah, a patient in his care?

01:08:42Members of the jury, I ask you to fine for Dr. Richards and the Bosdale Hospital Management Committee.

01:08:47My lord, members of the jury, this is a particularly painful and tragic case, but it has far-reaching implications for us all.

01:09:02The plaintiff is a young woman of subnormal intelligence, but as I think you will agree, of great gentleness and sweetness of disposition.

01:09:10Her case against Dr. Richards and the Bosdale Hospital Management Committee is simple.

01:09:14Last year, she became pregnant by her childhood sweetheart, Michael Penny, who asked to marry her.

01:09:21The superintendent of Bosdale Hospital persuaded the plaintiff's mother to refuse permission for this marriage.

01:09:28He then alleges that he obtained the written consent of Mrs. Havelock to perform an abortion on her daughter.

01:09:35He also alleges that he obtained Sarah's verbal consent for this operation.

01:09:38But the plaintiff denies this, and Mrs. Havelock says that it was not, in fact, made clear to her what it was that she was signing.

01:09:47Now, members of the jury, you have heard two expert witnesses give conflicting views on the treatment of people such as Sarah Apps.

01:09:56Indeed, it may have surprised you how many conflicting views there are on this subject.

01:10:03But let us consider the views of the defendant, Dr. Richards.

01:10:08Dr. Richards believes that society must exercise strict genetic control in order to reduce the incidence of mental disability.

01:10:16Now, this, in effect, means that we give to one man the right to decide who is to be permitted to have children and who is not.

01:10:27Now, is it possible, members of the jury, that by allowing Dr. Richards to pursue his policy of genetic control, we are placing too great a burden on one man?

01:10:36So, who do we agree with? Professor Seagrave, with his liberal views of the rights of sub-normals, or Dr. Richards, with his authoritarian philosophy?

01:10:47Now, I won't mince words, members of the jury.

01:10:50Sarah Apps's baby was killed by the defendant without her consent and against her interests.

01:10:56Members of the jury, you must award Sarah Apps heavy damages for assault and battery against Dr. Richards and the Bosdale Hospital Management Committee.

01:11:06Now, members of the jury, my duty is not to summarize counsel's arguments, but to clarify matters of law.

01:11:16The plaintiff has brought a charge of assault and battery against the defendant, and in its case, the assault is abortion.

01:11:24Now, abortion, as you know, is now a legal operation under the terms of the Abortion Act of 1967.

01:11:32Now, according to this Act, pregnancy may be terminated if there is a substantial risk that if a child were born, it would suffer from such physical or mental abnormalities as to be seriously handicapped,

01:11:46or might be seriously handicapped by the mother's inability to bring up the child.

01:11:51Now, you must decide whether this was so in Sarah's case.

01:11:56Now, the Abortion Act further states that the consent of the person to be operated on must be obtained.

01:12:05Now, you've seen the plaintiff in the witness box, and you will no doubt have formed your own opinion about her,

01:12:10but you must not be swayed by your natural sympathy for her predicament.

01:12:15You must decide whether or not Dr. Richards genuinely believed that she had given her consent for this operation to be performed upon her,

01:12:26a consent without duress, and in the light of a clear understanding of her position.

01:12:32Now, these questions are for you, and for you only, to decide.

01:12:39Now, if you do find for the plaintiff, you will also have to assess the figure for damages,

01:12:45and you will be asked about that when you retire.

01:12:48Now, members of the jury, will you please retire to consider your verdict?

01:12:53The jury have been out for nearly four hours, and the judge has advised them that they may return a majority verdict.

01:13:09Have you reached the majority verdict?

01:13:11Yes, by a majority of ten to two.

01:13:13And do you find for the plaintiff or for the defendants?

01:13:16For the defendant. Thank you.

01:13:19I'm sorry, sir.

01:13:21All stand.

01:13:23Next week, a chance for you to join another jury in assessing the facts,

01:13:41when our cameras return to watch another leading case in the Crown Court.

01:13:44I-

01:13:45I-

01:13:46I'll see you in the S-P-P-C-O-N court.

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Crown Court - The Right to Life (1973)

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