Written By Joshua Kotcheff and Jonathan Greene
Directed By Peter Leto
A baby diagnosed with AIDS forces Stabler and Benson to crack down on a clinic offering counterfeit medicine and headed by a homeopathic, AIDS-denialist doctor who purposefully misdiagnoses his patients.
FDNY Engine Company 99 is dispatched on a 911 call when a NYC Taxi Crown Victoria pulls up right in front of them as they are leaving quarters and cuts them off. When the commanding officer of the company asks the cabbie what the heck he was thinking blocking them like that and how they almost hit him, the cabbie reveals he had a baby left in his cab with orders to take it to the firehouse. When the baby is discovered to be running a high fever, the engine company notifies dispatch they have to abandon their original call and run the baby to the hospital, where SVU is notified, as the baby is HIV-positive.
After interviewing the cabbie at the nearby NYPD precinct that he dropped his cab off with for interrogation and investigation for clues, they soon learn of additional information that has them further interrogate the cabbie and his wife about what's happening with their homeland, and they direct SVU to their doctor, Dr. Gideon Hutton, for further investigation regarding the antibodies and anti-retro viral treatment he suggested. Back at the precinct, Munch reveals Hutton's website and proves that Hutton is talking crap and is a phony because of his anti-AIDS propaganda. The DA offers the public and media a chance to help, but Dr. Hutton is furious and threatens a lawsuit against the NYPD for harassment.
Following up on a tip, detectives seek out another girl, Lisa Ross, who the caller claimed was HIV-positive. They learn from her mother that Lisa is dead, ostensibly due to an allergic reaction to penicillin, but it was Dr. Hutton who signed the death certificate without the Medical Examiner doing an autopsy first. Luckily, the anonymous tip line provides some details, and they head to the school where the tip came from to speak to the teacher that called it in. He explains that he used to date the girl's mother and that she contracted HIV after she was injured in Kenya and had a contaminated blood transfusion, and that he found out only after she'd infected him, at which point he learned that she was an AIDS denier. With the new evidence, they could charge Hutton with negligent homicide, but first they need to exhume the deceased girl's body from the graveyard for an autopsy, which enrages Susan and Dr. Hutton, but in the end, Susan ends up in the hospital herself because of being HIV-positive, and under Olivia's encouragement, she provides some critical info before she flatlines, another fatality of AIDS.
Hutton is told of Susan's death, but he and his attorney still deny any AIDS-related cause of death, but thanks to the SVU and DA, Hutton's attorney finally cracks and agrees to a plea bargain, but Hutton still swears to spread his lies and misinformation from his cell after being found guilty and incarcerated. When it is discovered that Tommy could be HIV-positive, they attempt to test him, but he angrily kicks Stabler, breaking some of his ribs, while Hutton's attorney arrives to place a restraining order against testing Tommy. However, thanks to his attack on Stabler, Tommy is arrested for assault on a police officer and taken to court, but he is still defiant with the lies and misinformation from Hutton and Susan with the belief AIDS cannot kill and that was not what took the lives of his mom and sister. Nevertheless, the judge rules in Tommy's favor, only for the DA to try and have Tommy convicted of assaulting Stabler, but Stabler forces her to revoke the motion, which Tommy is grateful for.
Afterwards, Stabler takes Tommy to meet a friend of his who has brain cancer, rendering him bald, who encourages Tommy to focus on getting better for his own sake, asking why God gave them all those cures and treatments if he doesn't want them to get better with their aid. Convinced, Tommy later meets Stabler to reveal the grim news that he's HIV-positive as well, but he is resilient to not meet the same fate as his sister and mother, so he will get treated for it.
This episode contains examples of:
- Bittersweet Ending: Dr. Hutton is in jail where he can't spread any more misinformation about AIDS to the public, but Tommy's mother and sister are both dead, and he tests positive for the disease. In his case, he at least has a chance to avoid the same fate for the moment now that he's accepted his condition and will presumably allow himself to be treated, but given how long he's already gone untreated with it, he's likely to have a significantly shortened life expectancy at least.
- Death of a Child: At least three children died from AIDS because Dr. Hutton misdiagnosed them, maybe more.
- False Prophet: Warner calls Dr. Hutton this, but an unfazed Hutton retorts that everyone thought that about Jesus.
- Hate Sink: It is quite obvious that we are supposed to not like Dr. Hutton, because not only does he refuse to take responsibility for what happened to his patients, but when asked why and how all the people diagnosed with AIDS died, he brings up racist, homophobic or generally discriminatory reasons.
- Hollywood Law: Infecting someone with AIDS is a crime if you knew you were infected at the time of sex and did not take precautions or warn the person you infected. When Susan Ross infected her ex-boyfriend, he would have had every reason to sue her and, once in court, no jury would have agreed with her after finding out she knew she was HIV-positive. It is a mystery why the school agreed to pay her, after firing her, so that she would not sue instead of countersuing her and alerting the authorities.
- Hollywood Science: By the time of her death, Susan Ross has been HIV-positive for at least fifteen years while Tommy, who was presumably infected either in utero or through breastfeeding, has been HIV-positive for fourteen years. These in reality would be really unusual cases since the prognosis for HIV-positive people who don't take proper medication is usually between nine and eleven years.
- Hypocrite: Munch calls Hutton a crank for believing AIDS is a global conspiracy. He's right, but it's no crazier than some of the things Munch believes.
- Justice by Other Legal Means: When Tommy was going to be tested for HIV, he kicks Stabler so violently that some of his ribs get broken. Because Tommy's lawyer issues a restraining order against any HIV tests for Tommy, Graylek tries to circumvent it by using Stabler's injury to have Tommy arrested.
- Minor Crime Reveals Major Plot: The episode starts with a taxi driver bringing a baby girl with AIDS to the fire station, leading to the discovery of a doctor who doesn't believe in AIDS and misdiagnoses his patients.
- My God, What Have I Done?: Susan Ross's reaction when she is forced to accept that AIDS exists and that her daughter, Lisa Ross, might still be alive if Susan had taken precautions and treated her.
- Unscientific Science: Dr. Hutton, big time. And the scores of people who believe and support him.
