by Melissa Hill
I was glad that Dr. Ryan was taking Declan’s advice to always use the girls’ names when referring to them together, unlike the defense barrister, who’d so far spoken of them in more formal terms.
McGuinness nodded, as if he was carefully considering this. “Indeed. And, of course, no national health agencies have been deployed in this regard. I agree with you. But surely it’s not too hard to walk backward in the lives of two five-year-old girls?”
Nevin jumped up once again to object, but Dr. Ryan was already answering. “That isn’t a medical question I can answer. I would suggest you refer that to the girls’ parents.”
“Thank you, Dr. Ryan. We truly appreciate your time this morning,” replied McGuinness, who immediately turned on his heel and walked back to where the Coopers sat with their solicitor.
Matt Townsend had a small smirk on his face, and my mind immediately began to race as I wondered what ace card the defendants’ solicitor evidently believed he had up his sleeve.
40
Following the very damning testimony from Rosie O’Hara’s doctor, Madeleine heard the plaintiff’s side then call Dr. Sebastian Goring, a university professor of some sort who was apparently an expert on infectious disease.
She sighed, settling in once again to having her authority as a parent crushed like a beetle under the heel of a shoe.
“Dr. Goring, what is your experience in handling measles cases and the disease’s effect on the community at large?” Patrick Nevin asked.
The older bespectacled gentleman crossed one leg over another. “I was a family GP for twenty-five years before becoming a clinical professor in University College Dublin. I have spent considerable time studying and treating infectious diseases and also served as a member of an infectious-diseases symposium at the School of Public Health at John Hopkins University, Maryland.”
“Thank you for that. Very fine credentials you have, Doctor.” Goring nodded in response, waiting for the next question. “Can you comment on the impact that the MMR vaccination has made to children and indeed adults in this country?”
“Of course,” said Dr. Goring. “Before the measles vaccine was introduced in 1985, the death rate was close to twice what it was from polio. The measles vaccine changed all that. Statistics show that for every one thousand children who get the disease, approximately one will die from it. Among some children who don’t die from the disease, there is a chance of suffering lifelong, debilitating injury.” He paused for a moment, just as he had been coached to do. They wanted to make sure that the judge made the correlation between what had been said and Rosie’s situation. “Yet, there is currently no legal requirement in Ireland stating that you must vaccinate your children, even though results show the MMR vaccine is very effective. The HSE, as well as disease-control authorities internationally—such as the CDC in the US—have determined that the vaccine is more than 97 percent effective for measles. Those who are vaccinated have only a small chance of contracting a mild form of measles, mumps or rubella,” said Dr. Goring.
“Pretty conclusive,” Nevin agreed. “But about this belief widely held by anti-vaccination proponents like the Coopers, that the MMR vaccine causes autism?”
At this question Dr. Goring looked annoyed. “This ‘movement’ of sorts gained credibility in 1998 when a British gastroenterologist, Andrew Wakefield, published a paper in the medical journal The Lancet. In his paper, this...individual supported a belief based on entirely anecdotal research, that the MMR vaccine caused autism. Very quickly, Britain’s General Medical Council revoked the doctor’s medical license, and in 2010 the journal retracted the study. They announced that it was utterly clear that the statements in the paper were completely false. It was all nonsense. However, the damage was done and, even now, you still have the conspiracy theorists and antigovernment tinfoil-hat wearers who promote this false line of thinking. And also, quite frankly, this line of thinking also persists because idiot Hollywood celebrities continue to propagate this nonsense and spread it to a gullible, starry-eyed public.”
Across the courtroom, Madeleine visibly flinched. It was as if she had been slapped. How dare he? Celebrities had nothing to do with her decision, nothing at all! She had to stop herself from standing up and telling this blustering ignoramus so.
“So you have all these celebrities practicing armchair medicine—armchair science—and passing this faulty and highly illogical information on to members of the community who are inclined to believe the tabloid reporting so prevalent in today’s media. I can tell you straight, when people choose not to vaccinate their children because of personal, religious, political or any nonmedical viewpoints, they put their own children and other people’s children at risk.”
“Thank you, Doctor,” said Nevin, clearly worried that the doctor was laying it on a bit thick. “You said choosing not to vaccinate based on nonmedical viewpoints. What do you mean by that?”
Dr. Goring considered the barrister and uncrossed and recrossed his legs. “I mean in situations where if a vaccine was administered to someone that a medical complication would occur. The proteins most often implicated in vaccine allergies are egg and gelatin, with perhaps rare reactions to yeast or latex. The number of people who experience this type of hypersensitivity is relatively low, but when it is experienced, it is quite serious.”
“I see. Like in the situation of Kate O’Hara and her late husband—who were faced with a child who experienced a severe medical reaction when the first round of vaccinations was given. In your view, was the decision not to vaccinate their daughter justified?”
Dr. Goring nodded. “Yes. From my viewpoint as a medical professional, this was completely justified. The allergic reaction that Rosie O’Hara experienced as a baby was quite rare, but it could have been fatal if it hadn’t been recognized and addressed for what it was. Rosie is fortunate that her mother, Ms. O’Hara, is a licensed medical professional who had the scientific and clinical wherewithal and abilities to address it promptly, as well as seek proper care and counsel.”
Listening to the exchange, Madeleine closed her eyes. Not only were her and Tom being painted as “gullible, empty-headed people” readily influenced by celebrity, but now Kate was being compared to Florence Nightingale.
Honestly, could things get any worse?
41
That same afternoon, Madeleine had to face the ignominy of seeing one of her oldest and dearest friends testify against her.
She had no idea how Lucy’s testimony was going to go down, but based on how everything had played out so far, she wasn’t optimistic. Kate’s legal team needed to persuade the judge that Madeleine had knowingly acted in a negligent manner by sending an infectious Clara to school.
Lucy was the smoking gun, the proof they needed that she had done so.
Her friend spoke clearly and confidently as the plaintiff’s barrister asked her to outline their personal history. “I’ve known Madeleine pretty much all my life,” she began, with little trace of nerves. “We’re both from the same town, obviously, and have always been friendly, but I suppose we really only became close friends about nine years ago when we were both on maternity leave around the same time. Me with my daughter, Stephanie, and Madeleine with Jake.”
“I see. And how did this aspect of your relationship develop?” Patrick Nevin asked.
“We used to meet up at a local mum-and-toddler group, but I have to say from day one that I admired Madeleine’s approach to motherhood.”
“How so?”
“Well, she seemed very relaxed with Jake and considerably less inclined to fuss and stress like the rest of us did. She didn’t obsess about feeding routines or complain about sleepless nights—things like that. I guess you could say she took things in her stride. When the rest of us worried about whether or not we should use soothers or when we should start weaning, Madeleine took a much more
practical approach and urged us all not to take things so seriously—”
“But taking care of a baby is a serious business, surely?”
“Of course, and I’m not suggesting she didn’t take it seriously at all. I merely meant that she would have preferred the group to be less intense and judgmental and a little more fun. She used to say that we should all enjoy our babies more, instead of overthinking motherhood or treating it like this deeply stressful situation. She was right, of course, but I know some of the other mums were a bit annoyed by that. They enjoyed stressing and fussing. I did, too, but that’s not to say that I didn’t see Madeleine’s point. I just knew it wasn’t me. However, we remained friends even when she stopped going to the group—”
“She didn’t continue meeting with you and the other mums?”
“No. I think she found the gatherings a bit counterproductive. She’s a doer at heart and didn’t believe in sitting around navel-gazing. She much preferred to just get on with things instead of discussing them ad nauseam. And I know she hated the competitive, judgmental nature of it all. But some mums, myself included, we enjoyed playing the martyr that way—it was a sort of...bonding exercise, I suppose?”
“OK. So despite opposing parenting views, you and Madeleine Cooper remained close and maintained your friendship as your children got older and began attending the same school, correct?”
“That’s right.”
“And it became routine for you both to help each other out with pickups and drop-offs, etc.”
“Yes, just like most busy parents—we were always happy to do each other a turn.”
“Can you tell us about the morning of March twentieth last year—when Madeleine Cooper asked you for a very specific favor?”
“Sure.” At this, I noticed a slight waver in Lucy’s voice and her demeanor changed a little. Her hand shook as she picked up a glass of water and drank from it. “Madeleine phoned me at around eight that morning. She mentioned that Clara hadn’t been feeling the best and that she was likely coming down with something. A note had gone around the school that week about—”
“Thank you,” Nevin interjected smoothly, cutting off what was surely Lucy’s qualifier about the school note concerning chicken pox. “Mrs. Cooper said those exact words, ‘she was likely coming down with something’?”
“To the best of my recollection, yes. But I’m almost certain she thought it was chicken pox; she had no idea—”
Thank you, Lucy, Madeleine thought, feeling heartened. As she’d assured, her friend wasn’t here to hang her—while she was testifying on Kate’s side, she was also trying her utmost to tell it like it was.
Despite herself, she felt tears prick at the corners of her eyes. It felt like the first time anyone had stood up for her throughout this whole nightmare.
“But why did Mrs. Cooper put you on such an alert? Why was she not available to collect her own daughter herself?”
“Madeleine had a prior work commitment that she couldn’t cancel.”
“And what was the nature of this work commitment—” Nevin said the last word with obvious distaste “—that was so important that Mrs. Cooper could not make herself available for her daughter?”
“Objection! Judge, this is prejudicial in the extreme.”
“Sustained. Mr. Nevin, please abstain from personal commentary and focus solely on the facts,” said the judge. Then he addressed Lucy. “The witness should answer the question.”
“It was a TV appearance on a Channel 2 chat show,” she replied. “The show went out at eleven-thirty that morning and was too late to cancel—”
“So Mrs. Cooper needed you to be on call in case her daughter was sent home early from school so she could attend a TV show. Certainly seems as though she was pretty certain this would happen, does it not?”
“Objection!” McGuinness shouted, sounding livid. “Leading testimony and again prejudicial; plaintiff’s counsel cannot possibly know what Mrs. Cooper was or wasn’t certain of.”
“Sustained. Mr. Nevin...”
“My apologies. Mrs. Murphy, what time did you pick up Clara Cooper from school that day?”
“I believe it was around 11:30, not long after morning break.”
“And how did Clara Cooper seem to you when you met her at the school?”
“Objection, calls for speculation.”
The judge looked irritated. “Overruled, Mr. McGuinness. It’s already been established that the child was ill enough for the school to send her home, and the witness’s opinion will be helpful in further illustrating the reality of Ms. Cooper’s condition.”
“Well...she did seem a little feverish, yes, but I wouldn’t have said—”
Nevin began walking away. “Thank you, Mrs. Murphy. No further questions.”
Lucy looked a little perturbed at not being allowed to fully have her say, but her face showed relief at another chance to do so when the defense barrister approached the witness stand to cross-examine.
“Mrs. Murphy, you mentioned that you and Mrs. Cooper had been friends throughout early motherhood and beyond. During this time, did Madeleine Cooper ever discuss with you her decision not to vaccinate her children?”
“Yes. And while I didn’t share her opinion, I could perhaps understand it all the same. Madeleine, or indeed Tom, doesn’t make decisions lightly. They would have thought through all of the options and discussed the pros and cons at length. And, in fairness, when Jake came down with measles at eighteen months and came through it OK, it became less of an issue.”
“How so? Do you mean that Jake Cooper contracting the illness and recovering from it without incident justified the Coopers’ decision?”
“Well, perhaps not justified it, but it certainly suggested, to me at least, that it was less of a big deal than it might have been before that.”
“I understand. And when Jake Cooper was diagnosed with measles as a baby, did Mrs. Cooper make you aware that her son might be contagious?”
Lucy thought about it. “Yes, she did. We’d met up with the kids the previous week and Madeleine phoned to check if Stephanie was OK, or had any signs of infection. But Stephanie had been vaccinated with MMR, so I didn’t have too many concerns on that front.”
“You’re saying that Madeleine went out of her way to check? She was not—as is suggested by the plaintiffs—cavalier about other children’s safety?”
“Objection. Witness cannot speak for the defendant’s actions in any scenario other than the one in question.”
But Lucy answered anyway. “Of course she did,” she said, shaking her head. Then she took a deep breath. “Look, Madeleine is a good person and a wonderful mother, despite the fact that this trial, and certainly the accompanying publicity, is trying to suggest otherwise. I know it in my bones that she would never harm anyone intentionally or otherwise. Yes, she might have made a mistake that morning, but any working parent could very easily have done the same. And while her approach might come across to some as unconventional, she’s always done things on her own terms. She’s never wrapped her kids in cotton wool, never mourned or fretted over every little scratch or lump and bump. And unlike my own two, who I’ll admit were perhaps a little too indulged as babies and now still require much cosseting, Jake and Clara are confident, happy and well-adjusted children. Say what you will about Madeleine and Tom’s style, but no one can deny that their children are all the better for it.”
“Thank you, no further questions.”
Oh, Lucy... Now the tears had begun to fall freely from Madeleine’s eyes. After all this time, being the target of such horrible accusations and having to rethink (not to mention defend) every parenting decision she’d ever made, she really needed to hear that. The judge and the media needed to, too. But, most of all, she thought, glancing across to the other table, Kate needed to hear it.
She wasn’t a bad person or a terrible mother. She was just...human.
Thank you.
But Patrick Nevin stood up immediately to redirect.
“And what of Rosie O’Hara?” he asked. “Mrs. Murphy, would you also say that she is the better of Madeleine Cooper’s approach?”
Lucy’s mouth dropped open, and McGuinness jumped up to object, while just as quickly Madeleine’s heart plunged into her stomach.
“Mrs. Murphy, answer the question, please,” urged the judge.
Lucy exhaled loudly. “I feel terrible about what happened to little Rosie, of course I do. But if you’re asking me if I think Madeleine set out to harm her or is to blame for what happened to her, then the answer is absolutely not.” She looked down at Kate, her eyes full of sorrow and regret. “No one is to blame for this. It’s a horrible situation—of course it is—but sometimes, bad things just happen.”
42
At home later that evening, my mind was troubled following events of the day.
It appeared that things had for the most part gone well for us with Lucy’s testimony confirming Madeleine Cooper’s intent, and following that another convincing expert from the Health Service Executive, who outlined the government’s current recommendations on childhood vaccinations and produced proven studies discrediting any link between the MMR vaccine and autism, or indeed any other disorder.
Following her own appearance that afternoon, I’d invited Lucy back to the house for catch-up and a bite to eat as a thank-you for agreeing to take the stand. I’d always known that today would be very hard for her, and understood that while she’d given us the necessary “proof” we needed to show negligence, she’d also mitigated a lot of the damage our side had caused to the defense.