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Surrogate Offered $10,000 to Abort; Jodi Arias Back on the Stand; Study: Extremist Groups Up 7 Percent; Teacher Suspended for Message; "The Bible" Tops "The Walking Dead."
Aired March 05, 2013 - 13:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN ANCHOR: A woman hired to give birth to another couple's child receives an unbelievable offer. The couple tried to pay her to have an abortion when they found out something about the baby she was carrying. Elizabeth Cohen has the story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Crystal Kelley was thrilled when a couple hired her to be their surrogate and carry their baby. The husband and wife were ecstatic too. Finally they'd have the child they had been longing for.
CHRYSTAL KELLEY, SURROGATE: She said pray for a little girl. I want a little girl.
COHEN: She got a little girl.
KELLEY: She got a little girl.
COHEN: Was it the little girl she wanted?
KELLEY: No.
COHEN: Ultrasounds halfway through Kelley's pregnancy showed the baby girl growing inside her had severe heart defects, a brain abnormality and other medical problems.
KELLEY: They said she had less than 25 percent chance of being able to have a normal life.
COHEN: Inside Hartford hospital in Connecticut, the parents, heartbroken, asked Kelley to have an abortion.
KELLEY: I refused. I couldn't do it. I was the one feeling her kick and squirm. I knew she had a fighting spirit and I wanted to fight for her.
COHEN: But the parents pleaded with Kelley, genetically, this was their baby. She was just carrying her.
KELLEY: They said they didn't want to bring a baby in the world only for that child to suffer. They said I should try to be God-like and have mercy on the child and let her go.
COHEN (on camera): What did you say?
KELLEY: I told them that it wasn't their decision to play God.
COHEN (voice-over): Strong convictions, but would she betray them for the right price?
Kelley was a single mom. Money was tight. Through the Surrogacy Agency, the parents said they would pay her $10,000 to have an abortion.
(on camera): When you saw that $10,000 figure, did you think maybe I'll do it?
KELLEY: In a weak moment, I asked her to tell them that for $15,000 I would consider going forward with the termination.
COHEN (voice-over): The parents refused her request, and Kelley said she quickly regretted asking for the extra money anyways. Deep down, she knew she could never abort under any circumstance. Once again, they were at a stand-off. CNN reached out to the parents.
CNN reached out to the parents. They didn't respond to repeated calls or e-mails, and we're not naming them.
Legally, they couldn't force Kelley to have an abortion so they proposed, if you have this baby, we'll give her up and she'll become a ward of the state.
KELLEY: I'm not going to let her become one of those forgotten disabled kids that gets lost in the system.
COHEN: Kelley made a bold decision, informing the parents at the last second she left the second she had left the state, pregnant with their baby.
KELLEY: Packed up my van with everything that I could carry, threw my kids in the car, and we drove for two days to Michigan.
COHEN: Under Michigan law, Kelley would be the baby's mother.
(on camera): You were making a decision for a baby that was not genetically yours.
KELLEY: I can't tell you how many people told me that I was bad, that I was wrong, that I should go have an abortion, that I would be damned to hell.
COHEN (voice-over): She spent the final months of her pregnancy in Michigan and gave birth last June.
Here's the baby today. She's 8 months told. To protect her privacy, we're not naming her or the family Kelley found to adopt her. Along with her cleft lip and pallet and a misshapen ear, she has severe brain and heart problems. She'll need several risky surgeries to survive.
But in many other ways, she's developed like other babies. She smiles, babbles and grabs for toys.
(on camera): Some people would say, why bring a child into this world who you know is going to have such huge medical problems.
KELLEY: And I say that it's not fair to not give them a chance to overcome them.
COHEN: What if she doesn't walk, what if she doesn't talk?
KELLEY: She's still a happy little girl who will bring joy into the lives of everyone who knows her.
COHEN: When you see her now, how does that feel?
KELLEY: It gives me a lot of joy. And I know that every single thing that I did was worth it.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN ANCHOR: Elizabeth Cohen joining me now.
I wonder, because this is a multibillion dollar industry, surrogacy and litigation, legal issues come up because of it. This raises issues for a number of other situations that many, many American families find themselves in. How was it dealt with here? Did they have any of this spelled out in a contract and what can others do in a situation like this?
COHEN: Brianna, in the contract, it did say that Crystal Kelley, the surrogate agreed to have an abortion in the case of severe fetal abnormalities. Crystal saw that in the contract, but wasn't crazy about it, because she's against abortion. But she went for it anyhow because she thought the parents were in the same mind-set as she was, which turns out to be a false assumption.
I've been talking to lawyers about this. How can other family avoid this happening? They say you have to sit in the same room and hash it out. The surrogate and the people who want to hire her, you have to say, what do we do if the baby has this kind of deformity, will we abort or won't we. And that didn't happen in this case according to Crystal Kelley.
KEILAR: So don't assume you're on the same page. Work out all of the details.
Elizabeth Cohen, thank you for that.
COHEN: Thank you.
KEILAR: For more on the story, visit CNN.com.
Jodi Arias is back on the stand for the 15th day and her testimony sounds a bit like a soap opera. Coming up, the graphic details being exposed as this courtroom drama unfolds.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) KEILAR: This just in to CNN. The FAA says it will close 173 air traffic control towers next month because of the forced spending cuts that just went into effect. The towers will close on April 7th, at small and medium-sized airports. The FAA says it will close another 16 towers at the end of September. Jodi Arias returns to the stand for the 15th day. She's on trial for murder in the grisly death of her boyfriend Travis Alexander. Her attorneys are in the middle of their redirect questioning, focusing on the couple's sex life.
Our Randi Kaye recaps Monday's fireworks.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RANDI KAYE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): After damaging week on cross-examination, the first order of business for Jodi Arias's defense team was knocking down any hint at premeditation.
KIRK NURMI, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Did you go to Mr. Alexander see home on June 4th with the intent of killing him?
JODY ARIAS, ON TRIAL FOR MURDER: No, I didn't.
KAYE: Another attempt to convince the jury she murdered Travis Alexander in self defense, even though she's changed her story three times.
Testimony quickly turned to Arias' broken finger on her left hand. The prosecution has tried to prove she hurt her finger while stabbing her ex-boyfriend dozens of times. And dragging his bloody body around the house. To dispute that, Arias' defense lawyer offered a show and tell.
NURMI: And that is the injury you incurred when you testified to having received when Mr. Alexander was kicking you in the ribs and he ended up kicking your hand, correct?
ARIAS: That's correct.
KAYE: Arias says Alexander broke her finger six months before the murder, the day after she caught him allegedly masturbating to a photo of a little boy. She claims he became increasingly violent after that.
(on camera): Even though the couple had broken up, Arias says she and Alexander continued to have sex. But she wasn't the only one Alexander was seeing. Now the state has painted her as jealous and obsessive. But here in court, Arias portrayed herself as unfazed by this other woman. She even asked Alexander about her.
ARIAS: I didn't want to be confrontational. I wanted to just throw it out will there and let him know it's OK if you're dating someone, you can let me know. I'll be cool about that.
KAYE (voice-over): Again, the couple's sex life was on full display. The defense worked to convince the jury it was Alexander, not Arias, who was the more experienced sexually. Listen to will recording of the couple's phone sex played in court.
(BEGIN AUDIO FEED)
TRAVIS ALEXANDER, VICTIM: You cannot say I don't work that booty. We've had two and three hour sessions many times.
(END AUDIO FEED)
KAYE: There was also in question about an encounter of oral sex in the car.
NURMI: Did he do anything to make you believe that this wasn't his first encounter of this nature?
ARIAS: Yes, he flipped the visor down and angled the mirror so he could have an additional visual vantage point.
KAYE: But what about the text message Arias sent Alexander saying she wanted to dress up like a horny little school girl?
NURMI: Was that the idea of the school girl and the outfit, was that something that you were interested in it or was it something you were doing to please him?
ARIAS: It would be more for his pleasure because just being with him was enough for me. But he enjoyed that kind of stuff.
KAYE: All along, the prosecutor has painted Arias as the one who unleashed Alexander's sexual appetite. The defense tried to counter that.
NURMI: So based on what you've told us in your testimony, before you met Travis in your sexual history, you would have had anal sex no more than four times, is that accurate?
ARIAS: That's accurate.
KAYE: And what to make of Arias' strange behavior at Alexander's memorial service? She left him a note, shown in court, telling him she loved him. Remember, this was less than two weeks after she slit his throat, nearly cutting his head off.
ARIAS: Well, I still had love for him, yes. And I was thinking now more in terms of eternity.
KAYE: Arias told the court she still had deep love for Alexander on June 4th, 2008, the day she killed him.
Randi Kaye, CNN, Phoenix, Arizona.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KEILAR: Coming up, the number of hate groups in America reaches a record high. This, as someone has reportedly seen someone wearing a Ku Klux Klan outfit on a college campus. We'll explain, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KEILAR: The number of hate groups in the United States is on the rise, one variety in particular. A study just released by the Southern Poverty Law Center counts 1,360 so-called patriot extremists in 2012. This number's up from 7 percent. It's up 7 percent, I should say, from 2011. Most of these groups are anti-government groups, anti-government militias, to be more specific. These are people who feel the government will strip them of their guns and liberties.
And one of those hate groups is the Ku Klux Klan. So when there was a sighting of a person wearing a white hood and robe on the Oberlin College in Ohio campus, classes were suspended. While police have not been able to confirm the report, students are still feeling frightened.
Denise Zarella from our affiliate, WOIO, reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DENISE ZARELLA, CORRESPONDENT, WOIO (voice-over): It was the appearance of images of hate against people of color and also some against homosexuals that prompted this jam-packed meeting on the Oberlin College campus, concerned because someone dressed in KKK gear was also reported to be on the traditionally liberal campus. Classes were canceled as police investigate. Students told to be vigilant.
MEREDITH GADSBY, PROFESSOR, OBERLIN COLLEGE: Some faculty have had invitations to the new KKK delivered to mailboxes.
CHINWE OKONA, STUDENT: There are definitely moments of fear. I think we all have moments of fear. And then there's that belief that it won't happen to you, and then you reevaluate and realize it could happen to anybody.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KEILAR: That was Denise Zarella reporting.
Tonight, on "Out Front," they'll take a look at the growing number of hate groups in America, at 7:00 p.m. eastern.
Coming up, he's been a teacher for more than 30 years without any major problems, so what was he thinking when he wrote this on the chalk board.
"The guns are loaded and dare to try me. Did he snap, or is this an example of what happens when a teacher is pushed. We'll look into it, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KEILAR: A teacher in Indiana has been suspended while authorities investigate what appear to be threats against students written on ace chalk board. The school superintendent confirms that a teacher at Edison Junior Senior High wrote, "A, you are idiots. B, the guns are loaded. And C, care to try me"? The teacher, who worked at the school for 32 years without incident, is on paid leave during an investigation.
And joining me to talk about this is clinical and forensic psychologist, Jeff Gardere. He's in New York. Also with us on the phone is Steve Perry, the founder of Capital Prep Magnate School and host of "TV One Saved My Son."
What do you make of this? Does this speak to maybe some type of pressure this teacher was under?
STEVE PERRY, FOUNDER, CAPITAL PREP MAGNATE SCHOOL & HOST, TV ONE SAVED MY SON (voice-over): Absolutely not. This speaks to the fact that we have an adult who made really bad decisions, who happened to be a teacher. There are thousands of teachers teaching all around the world, working their butts off to make sure children have access to world-class education and don't do things like this. It is not teaching. It's him.
KEILAR: Jeff, you take this -- how do you take this? Do you take it as well as he said, just sort of a sick joke and not that the teacher snapped?
JEFF GARDERE, CLINICAL & FORENSIC PSYCHOLOGIST: I have to look at this as a psychologist. To me this is probably an individual who perhaps had some issues in the past, with anxiety, with mood disorders. One of the kids said, look, this guy was generally OK. But when he was mad, you knew he was mad. So this was probably a teacher who was wound very tight, couldn't handle the pressures of the classroom. But I'm sure there were pressures outside of the classroom and I think all of those things together caused him to snap.
I'm glad no kids were hurt. I hope he gets psychological counseling and the school takes care of him and takes care of the kids because they're traumatized by those threats.
KEILAR: Certainly, they are.
Steve, maybe you can speak to this. I know you said you feel like he's completely responsible for his actions. But there are a lot of teachers who are under pressure. Maybe they're not going to snap like this. But they're under a lot of pressure, and obviously students would be traumatized by something like this. What more needs to be done to help teachers as well as students?
PERRY: This is a job that is difficult. Education and social work, working with other people's children, is difficult. And when you sign up for it, you have to understand that. And it requires a certain level of understanding of those responsibilities and in so doing everything that a person does -- pathology. Sometimes even people who teach for 30-plus years make really bad decisions. And it sounds to me like this individual made really bad decision. This is not something that is endemic of education. This is a situation in which we have people who have a person who just made a bad decision on his own. KEILAR: OK. So he's -- so you say he's made a bad decision. But in your experience, are there situations where teachers may be -- may be bullied? If they're facing off against obviously a number of students, they're definitely outnumbered. Do you come across that where they are being bullied by students?
PERRY: Anyone could be bullied, regardless of what you're doing. A teacher could be bullied. A principal could be bullied by parents. Anyone could be bullied. But this reaction is unconscionable.
KEILAR: And, Jeff, what kind of help do you think the students should get in this situation?
GARDERE: Certainly, in light of the school shootings of the past, they should have counselors where they can debrief and talk about what is going on.
Going back to Steve's point, this is unconscionable, but you to look at the degree to which this teacher acted out. It would be one thing if he said these kids were idiots, but to almost have an academic suicide by saying the guns are loaded, care to try me, to me, this speaks to something deeper, someone who had an emotional breakdown, and is his way of asking for help because he knew that everyone would come down on him at this particular point. I am sure this teacher is suffering.
We have got to take care of our teachers. We have got to take care of our students, because we're all in it together.
KEILAR: I think that is definitely fair to say.
Jeff Gardere, Steve Perry, thanks for being with us. We appreciate it.
Bibles and zombies. It seems viewers can't get enough of either. How the History Channel's "The Bible" and "The Walking Dead" are taking over.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KEILAR: "The Walking Dead" can't beat "The Bible."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: God warned me. He told me to build a boat.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KEILAR: The History Channel's miniseries "The Bible" grabbed 13.1 million viewers on Sunday night, the year's largest audience for any cable entertainment program.
But right on its heels is AMC's "The Walking Dead" with an audience of more than 12 million.
Nischelle Turner has more. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: Run!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NISCHELLE TURNER, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Just like the human-hunting zombies it creates, there seems to be no stopping AMC's "The Walking Dead." Its third season on the cable channel, the apocalypse horror series has become a ratings juggernaut, making other networks seem like, well, The Walking Dead.
STACEY WILSON, THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER: 12.3 million viewers for a basic cable drama series is unprecedented and it will allow them to take more risks in the future and have people want to invest more in the programming because the numbers don't lie.
TURNER: According to "The Hollywood Reporter," ratings for the zombie drama surpassed those of award winning hits like "The Big Bang Theory" and "Modern Family" in the 18 to 19 demographic, a key target for advertisers.
"The Walking Dead" is part of a growing trend in the television landscape, more and more viewers migrating to basic cable channels to watch their favorite shows.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: Frankly, I'm impressed.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
TURNER: Whether it is "Mad Men," "Breaking Bad" or zombies, AMC is offering something a lot of broadcast networks aren't, or in some cases, can't.
WILSON: I think AMC has been changing the business. What a basic cable network can get away with in terms of violence and censors, no way a network can make "The Walking Dead" in the way the fans would most crave it to be created.
TURNER: But the zombies themselves also deserve credit for "The Walking Dead's" uprising. Like the vampire craze we have seen in recent years with the "Twilight" movies and HBO's "True Blood," zombies are the new it monster in entertainment.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(SHOUTING)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
TURNER: Movie audiences can see them this summer, chasing down Brad Pitt in "World War Z." (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BRAD PITT, ACTOR: Don't be creepy.
TURNER: And the surprise hit "Warm Bodies," a dark comedy about a zombie takeover has earned more than $85 million at the worldwide box office.
Star Nicholas Holt has a theory on why zombies are hot in pop culture.
NICHOLAS HOLT, ACTOR: There is a morbid twisted fascination with that sort of thing. A lot of us are like zombies in many ways, stumbling through life.
TURNER: Much like the gruesome creatures in "The Walking Dead," interest in zombies just won't die.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KEILAR: Thanks, Nischelle.
Jimi Hendrix died in 1970, but his music certainly lives on.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(MUSIC)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KEILAR: Hendrix, known as the legendary master of the electric guitar, has a new album out titled "People, Hell and Angels". Before he died at 27, he only cut three studio albums and one live L.P.
That's it for me. Brooke Baldwin takes it from here.
