When Lauren Westley is found badly beaten and taken to a New York hospital, it is discovered she's a runaway from Virginia whose father Philip Westley has been in the city searching for her. Detectives discover that Westley was 24 weeks pregnant and due to her injuries, suffered a miscarriage. As the investigation unfolds Detectives Benson and Stabler question Wayne Meredith a teenager from Westley's high school who is the father of the baby. Westley and Meredith ran away to New York seeking the help from an abortion clinic. When the case goes to court, Meredith's attorney, Sophie Devere, tries to defend Meridith's actions but new evidence is introduced questioning the credibility of the abortion clinic and whether the doctor there was ultimately responsible for West's injuries.

When a bruised, bloodied and severely injured 12-year-old boy is dumped outside a hospital, Detectives Benson and Stabler are led to Charlie Monaghan, a teenager seen beating the boy a week earlier at St. Victor's school. But the suspect's alibi proves unlikely when his 8-year-old half sister's own problems at school and tormented past at the hands off the injured boy surface. Meanwhile, the girl's legal woes are exacerbated when questions concerning legal guardianship and consent - and what constitutes fit parenting - come into play.