SVU S6 E1 “Birthright”
“Excuse me Ma’am. Any chance you were involved in the kidnapping of a girl who happens to look like your dead daughter and might have been conceived using your own eggs? No? Sorry to waste your time.”
After little Patty (Abigail Breslin) is nearly snatched from a playground, the SVU squad hunts for two would‑be kidnappers. They learn the pair are private investigators who specialize in retrieving abducted children. They were hired by Michelle Osborne (Lea Thompson), who believes Patty is her long‑missing daughter. Detectives Olivia Benson and Elliot Stabler discover Michelle’s baby actually died, but DNA proves the two girls are biological sisters. Their fertility doctor claims Michelle consented to donate her unused embryos, but Detectives John Munch and Fin Tutuola find the paperwork was forged.
Though Michelle faces kidnapping charges, her attorney (Viola Davis) argues that an acquittal will pave the way for her to win custody of Patty from the Bransons. Unable to “split the baby,” ADA Casey Novak mercilessly questions the weeping child on the stand in a high‑stakes gambit to see which mother will sacrifice her own interests for Patty’s well‑being.
We're talking about Law & Order: Special Victims Unit season 6 episode 1 "Birthright." Our guest is Daisy Eagan from the "Strange and Unexplained" podcast.
Some plot points in this episode are taken from the 1986 case of "Baby M."
