Arthur Hailey - Strong Medicine

Donahue smiled without replying, and Stavely continued. To Celia's distress, her own visit to CSM headquarters was referred to. It introduced a complication she had hoped would be avoided. The matter came up again during Stanley Urbach's cross-examination of Dr. Stavely. The subcommittee counsel asked, "What was the date of Mrs. Jordan's visit to Citizens for Safer Medicine?" Stavely consulted notes.”November twelfth, 1978.”

"Did Mrs. Jordan state her purpose in coming to see you at that time?" "She said she wanted to talk. One of the things we talked about was Montayne.”

"At that point, I believe, while Montayne had been approved by FDA, it had not yet gone on sale. Is that correct?" "Yes, it is.”

"Is it also correct that, at that time, Citizens for Safer Medicine was actively seeking to have the FDA approval canceled?" "Yes. We were strong about that, working hard at it.”

"Did that strength, those efforts you were making to stop Montayne, appear to worry Mrs. Jordan?" "Well, she certainly wasn't pleased. She argued for Montayne, saying it was safe. Of course, I disagreed.”

"Did she say why she believed the drug was safe?" "I remember very clearly-she did not. Of course she has no medical qualifications to make that kind of judgment-not that that stops sales-happy people like Jordan making them.”

Stavely's voice conveyed disdain, then she added, "Just the same, I was shocked at how little she did know.”

"Can you be specific as to why you were shocked?" "Yes. You remember, at the time, the Australian case against Montayne had already received wide attention?" Urbach smiled politely.”I'm supposed to be asking the questions, Doctor.”

Stavely smiled back.”Excuse me. The point I'm making is that Jordan had not even read the Australian trial transcript. She admitted it. I urged her to go away and do so.”

"Thank you, Doctor. Now, during your conversation, did you get the impression that Mrs. Jordan had come representing her company, Felding-Roth?" "Very definitely, yes.”

"And again referring to the effort by Citizens for Safer Medicine to have the FDA approval of Montayne withdrawn, did you also form an impression that Felding-Roth had become anxious about that, and therefore sent Mrs. Jordan to you with a plea to ease up?" "Well, it did occur to me, though I can't prove it. However, if that was the woman's purpose, she must have seen immediately that there was not the slightest chance of its happening.”

Listening and watching, Celia thought: Unlike Vince Lord, Stavely had not lied. But what a difference the selection of items, a tone of voice, and emphasis seasoned with opinion could make to a subsequent report of any conversation! Senator Donahue, holding a paper, spoke into his microphone.”Dr. Stavely, I have in my hand a document described as 'The Felding-Roth Doctrine.' If you have not seen it, I will have this copy handed to you.”

"I have seen it, Senator, and once is enough.”

Donahue smiled.”I take it you have an opinion. We would like to hear it.”

"I believe the so-called doctrine is a nauseating, shameless piece of sales promotion which capitalizes on a ghastly tragedy and is an insult to the children and families who have been victims of Montayne.”

Celia, hot with anger and ready to leap to her feet, felt Quentin's hand on her arm, restraining her. With an effort she stayed seated, her face flushed, seething. A minority member of the subcommittee, Senator Jaffee, observed mildly, "But surely, Dr. Stavely, if a company, in effect, admits an error and promises for the future . - .”

Stavely snapped, "I was asked my opinion and gave it. If a piece of hocus-pocus like that deceives you, sir, it doesn't me.”

Senator Donahue, with a half smile, put his paper down. After a few more questions, Dr. Stavely was thanked and excused. The first witness on the following day, it was announced, would be Dr. Gideon Mace from FDA.

That evening, in her suite at the Madison Hotel, Celia received a telephone call. The caller was Juliet Goodsmith who announced she was downstairs in the lobby. Celia invited her to come up, and when Juliet arrived embraced her affectionately. Sam's and Lilian's daughter looked older than her twenty-three years, Celia thought, though that was not surprising. She also appeared to have lost weight-too much of it, prompting Celia to suggest they have dinner together, but the offer was declined. "I only came," Juliet said, "because I'm in Washington, staying with a friend, and I read about those hearings. They're not being fair to you. You're the only one in the company who showed any decency about that filthy drug. All the others were greedy and rotten, and now you're being punished.”

They were seated facing each other, and Celia said gently, "It wasn't, and isn't, quite like that.”

She explained that as the company's senior representative, she was the immediate target for Senator Donahue and his aides; also that her personal actions had had no effiect on the marketing of Montayne. "The point is," Celia said, "Donahue is trying to make FeldingRoth took like a public enemy.”

"Then maybe he's right," Juliet said, "and the company is a public enemy.”

"No, I won't have that!" Celia said emphatically, "The company made a bad mistake over Montayne, but has done enormous good in the past and will do the same again.”

Even now she was thinking, with excited optimism, about Peptide 7 and Hexin W. "Also," Celia went on, "whatever mistake your father made which he paid for dearly-he wasn't either of those things you said: rotten' or 'greedy.' He was a good man who did what he saw as right at the time.”

"How can I believe that?" Juliet retorted.”He gave me those pills without telling me they weren't approved.”

"Try to forgive your father," she urged.”If you don't, now that he's dead, you'll achieve nothing and it will be harder on you.”

As Juliet shook her head, Celia added, "I hope you will, in time.”

She knew better than to inquire about Juliet's son, now almost two years old and in an institution for the helpless and incurable, where he would spend the remainder of his life. Instead, she asked, "How is Dwight?" "We're getting a divorce.”

"Oh, no!" The shock and concern were genuine. Celia remembered her conviction, at Juliet's and Dwight's wedding, that theirs would be a strong marriage which would last. "Everything was great until our baby was a few months old.”

Juliet's voice held the flatness of defeat.”Then, when we found out how he was, and why, nothing seemed to work anymore. Dwight was bitter at my father, even more than me. He wanted to sue Felding-Roth and Daddy personally, savaging them in court, handling the case himself. I could never have agreed to that.”

"No," Celia said.”It would have torn everyone apart.”

"After that we tried to put things together for a while.”

Juliet said sadly, "It didn't work. We weren't the same two people anymore. That's when we decided on divorce.”

There seemed little to say, but Celia thought, How much sadness and tragedy, beyond the obvious, Montayne had wrought! Of all the witnesses to appear before the Senate Subcommittee on Ethical Merchandising during its investigation of Montayne, Dr. Gideon Mace suffered the hardest time. At one dramatic point during the cross-examination of Mace, Senator Donahue pointed an accusing finger and thundered in a voice matching Jehovah's, "You were the one who, representing government and all the safeguards government has set, unleashed this scourge upon American womanhood and helpless unborn children. Therefore do not expect to leave this place unscathed, uncensured, or unburdened of a guilty conscience which should stay with you through all your days.”

What Mace had done a few minutes earlier, astounding all who heard, was admit that prior to recommending FDA approval of Montayne, he had had serious doubts about the drug, based on the earliest Australian report--doubts which never left him. Urbach, conducting the cross-examination, had almost shouted, "Then why did you approve it?" To which Mace answered, emotionally but lamely, "I... I just don't know.”