'Mr. Decker made a big point about the fetus being geneti-cally different from the woman simply because it contains a little genetic matter from a man. May I point out that it re-ceives everything else from the woman? It wouldn't be able to convert nutrients into its own genetic matter if there weren't a woman eating, breathing, and living to surround and protect it.
'Or does Dr. Fletcher intend to cut out the woman entirely? Why should a man even marry? Is Dr. Fletcher working on ways to remove the entire uterus from a woman, connect it to a machine, and churn out babies on male demand? All for a price?' She stared hatefully at Fletcher. 'A price not calcu-lated just in dollars but also in the immeasurable suffering and oppression of the entire female species.' Applause erupted in scattered portions of the courtroom. Cameras swung about for reactions. Judge Lyang gaveled for silence.
Czernek let out a breath he had been holding, spellbound. 'Thank you, Ms. Burke. Thank you for your insight on this. I have no further questions. You've covered it all.' He returned to his seat. Johnson stood, running a hand through his hair. 'Ms. Burke,' he said with a touch of confusion, 'you leave me at a loss for words. I can't understand how someone who battles so val-iantly for women's rights can support something as brutally murderous as abortion. Doesn't abortion deprive an unborn woman of her right to life?'
Burke smiled at the obvious baiting. 'There is no such thing as an unborn woman,' she said with a touch of condescen-sion. 'A fetus is a piece of tissue inside a woman, just as much a part of her as an appendix. It cannot reason, it cannot sur-vive outside her body. It only has the potential of someday being a human being. And that point comes at birth, when it becomes a separate and distinct human being.'
'Maybe I'm a little thickheaded,' Johnson said. 'Doesn't the fact that we are here today arguing over the custody of Baby Renata prove that a fetus can survive outside its mother's body?'
'By planting it in another woman's body, certainly. But that's the same as saying a parasite can survive without its host if one can move it around from host to host.' Terry raised a surprised eyebrow. 'Fetuses are now para- sites?'
'In a sense, yes. It is an invading organism that takes nour-ishment from its host.'
'So now you admit that it is a distinct organism.'
'No,' she said. 'Well, yes, inasmuch as it is a tumorlike growth that swells at a fantastic rate.'
'Tumor, parasite.' He stared at her for a moment, then back at the jury. 'Don't these words describe unnatural invasions of the human body that can happen to both men and women?'
'Of course.'
'Isn't pregnancy, though, something that is not only natural but vital to the human race, which can only occur in women?'
'Put that way, yes. But-'
'Parasites stay with their hosts until the host dies. A fetus stays with a woman for nine months max, correct?'
'Yes,' Burke replied in a tight voice. She knew where he was leading her. Mild laughter mixed with whispered comments from the spectators.
'It's common knowledge,' he continued, 'that a tumor can either remain one size indefinitely or grow until it kills the victim but a fetus grows at a specific rate to a specific point at which it signals the woman's body to expel it. Why do you sup-port a woman's right to expel a fetus and let it die but not an-other woman's right to rescue an expelled fetus and implant it in her own body? Shouldn't that also be a reproductive free-dom?'
'The fetus is not another woman's property.'
'True. And I'd question whether it is the first woman's prop-erty. Let's assume, though, that it is. If I abandon my property, can't someone come along and claim it?'
'This is the problem, don't you see?' Burke pounded her fist on the chair arm. 'Treating human beings like property whose title can be-'
'Excuse me?' Johnson nearly shouted. 'What is that con-clusion based on? When did fetuses become human beings to you? How can you object to the buying and selling of tumors and parasites?'
'That's not what I mean. A fetus is like a houseguest of the woman. The uterus is the home, and the woman is the land-lord. She has a perfect right as landlord to evict the tenant at any point. To demand that she care for the tenant against her will is slavery. But that doesn't mean a landlord can sell the tenant to another landlord.'
Johnson waved his hand dismissively. 'Once again, only human beings can be considered tenants. But let's get back to body tissue. I presume you have your hair and nails done at a salon?'
'Objection!' Czernek said loudly. 'What possible bearing does the witness's groom-'
