Chapter Thirty-One
Excerpt from Testimony of Marta Lyons
Ada Olson: Ms. Lyons, you were working at the women’s clinic in Colorado Springs when Jolene Montgomery came in for a termination procedure, correct?
Marta Lyons: Yes. I was a nurse practitioner there for seven years.
Ada Olson: Do you remember Ms. Montgomery?
Marta Lyons: Yes. After reviewing her file, I remember.
Ada Olson: She asked to terminate the pregnancy, correct?
Marta Lyons: Yes.
Ada Olson: But on the first visit, she had to comply with the law at the time, correct? Which required parental notification for minors forty-eight hours before the procedure?
Marta Lyons: Yes, that’s right. And our clinic had its own guidelines to ensure the well-being of our patients—the ultrasound and informed consent information.
Ada Olson: Right—their well-being. And did Ms. Montgomery say why she wanted the termination?
Marta Lyons: She said she was afraid of her father.
Ada Olson: And did you ask her to elaborate?
Marta Lyons: No. It wasn’t unusual for a teenage girl to say that.
Ada Olson: How did you know she was underage?
Marta Lyons: Her ID was clearly a fake. And she was a skater.
Ada Olson: How did you know about the skaters?
Marta Lyons: Because my sister lived in Echo. In a condo unit where a lot of the skating families stayed. She was friends with a skating mother. She used to tell me stories about that place. Some of the skaters were in the Olympics.
Ada Olson: Yes, they were. Ms. Lyons—was your sister’s friend named Mrs. Finch?
Marta Lyons: Yes. That was the name I remember. Finch.
Ada Olson: Did you ever tell your sister things about your patients at the clinic?
Marta Lyons: Only in general. I never used names.
Ada Olson: But descriptions, perhaps? Like telling her if they were skaters?
Marta Lyons: Yes, perhaps.
Ada Olson: Skaters like Kayla Johnson, who’d come in for emergency contraception and STD testing after an assault?
Marta Lyons: She didn’t say it was an assault.
Ada Olson: And Jolene Montgomery, who sought medical care to terminate her pregnancy?
Marta Lyons: I was concerned about them. They were living away from home, and these things were happening to them. They were making decisions without any parental guidance.
Ada Olson: And your response to that concern was to tell your sister? Who was friends with Mrs. Finch?
Marta Lyons: I thought maybe someone would step in and take care of them, if they knew what was happening. It wasn’t right—those girls on their own . . . I never said their names . . . I was within my ethical boundaries . . . I didn’t know about Jolene’s father . . .
Ada Olson: Thank you, Ms. Lyons. That’s more than enough.