Listen to the Call:
Transcript:
PLANNED PARENTHOOD OF THE ROCKY MOUNTIANS
2030 E 20TH AVE.
DENVER, CO 80205
303 / 321-2458
TAPE – 809
(Dialing, phone ringing 1x)
CLINIC: Planned Parenthood Services Corporation. Can I help you?
CALLER: Hi. Yeah. I was calling to see if you guys do abortions there.
CLINIC: Yes.
CALLER: How much does it cost for that?
CLINIC: Well, it depends on the length of the pregnancy. Do you know the first day of your last normal period?
CALLER: It was January 3rd.
CLINIC: January 3rd was the first day?
CALLER: Yeah.
CLINIC: Okay. So that would put you just about nine weeks. Under 12 weeks, the fee is either 355 — that’s for oral medication. What we give is valium and vikaden (ph) — or 425, we give what’s call the IV sedation.
CALLER: Okay.
CLINIC: Those are the prices.
CALLER: The thing is, I’m going to be 14 later on this month, and my friend said that you guys would have to tell my parents. But my boyfriend’s 22. Is he old enough to take care of it, and you wouldn’t have to tell anybody?
CLINIC: You’re 13 years old right now?
CALLER: Yeah.
CLINIC: No. Hold on just a second, hon.
CALLER: All right.
CLINIC: What we would like to do to get you in here to kind of see where you’re at in terms of — there’s no such thing as parental notification, but we can kind of just figure out what’s going on with your situation and the fee and all that kind of stuff, and to explain what happens during an abortion and all that.
CALLER: Me and my boyfriend were talking about all this. And he said he would pay cash for everything. But we don’t want anyone to know about us. Would he have to fill out any forms or sign anything if he was paying for it?
CLINIC: Yeah, sure. Let me find out for you. Hold on.
(Short pause)
CLINIC: Appointments for you and all your information would be confidential.
CALLER: Okay. So my boyfriend wouldn’t have to sign anything?
CLINIC: No, he doesn’t sign anything. It doesn’t have anything to do with him.
CALLER: So would you guys do a pregnancy test beforehand to make sure? Because I haven’t had one yet.
CLINIC: Well, before we make an appointment what you need to do is take a pregnancy test first, and then call me back.
CALLER: Do I come in there for a pregnancy test?
CLINIC: No, you can take one at home.
CALLER: Oh. Are those usually right though?
CLINIC: Yes, they’re very accurate. That’s the same test that we give here.
CALLER: Oh. Well, if it ended up that I wasn’t pregnant, could I get birth control from you guys? It’s just we don’t want to have to go through all this anymore.
CLINIC: Right. Not through us, but there’s a contraceptive clinic in Denver that could put you on some sort of birth control pill or some other sort of birth control.
CALLER: Would they have to tell anybody?
CLINIC: No. There’s no consent. You can get birth control without telling your parents.
CALLER: Well, I don’t drive yet. Would my boyfriend be able to pick up the birth control pills?
CLINIC: I think when you go in there what they can do is sign a consent form. And you get to put a list of people who it’s okay for you to have pick up your pills for you. So you can put whomever you’d like on that.
CALLER: Well, if I had any other questions, could I call and talk to you? What was your name?
CLINIC: Uh-huh. My name is Danielle.
CALLER: All right.
CLINIC: So why don’t you give me a call back. And then if you need any other sort of information — we offer all different kind of services here — you just call, okay?
CALLER: Okay. And you’re sure nobody has to know about anything?
CLINIC: In terms of services for you?
CALLER: Right.
CLINIC: All of our patients are given confidentiality. Right now there’s no state laws for parental consent in terms of that.
CALLER: And so my boyfriend can bring me, and no one would have to know about anything, or no one would have to ask about him?
CLINIC: About him?
CALLER: Right.
CLINIC: Hold on a second while I get this phone call.
(Short pause)
CLINIC: Thanks for holding. Have you been helped?
CALLER: I was talking to Danielle.
CLINIC: Okay. Hold on.
(Short pause)
CLINIC: This is Cheryl. Danielle had to take another call. But she did fill me in that you had some concerns about confidentiality.
CALLER: Yeah.
CLINIC: I’m the center director here. How can I help you?
CALLER: Well, I just don’t want anyone to know about me and my boyfriend. My friend said that since I’m going to be 14 later on this month that my parents have to know about all this. But my boyfriend’s 22, and he said that he would take care of everything. So would that be all right and you wouldn’t have to tell anybody?
CLINIC: Well, here’s the circumstance, that we’re required by law. Because, obviously, there’s more than a five-year difference and the person that you became pregnant with. Because of that we’re required to report that to Social Services.
CALLER: Oh.
CLINIC: That’s a requirement.
CALLER: But I wasn’t really sure if I am pregnant.
CLINIC: If you’re not sure —
CALLER: And just haven’t had my period since January 3rd.
CLINIC: Have you had a pregnancy test done?
CALLER: No.
CLINIC: That’s the first order of business, is for you to get a pregnancy test done. In the meanwhile, you want to make sure that you’re using birth control. Does your boyfriend, who is older than you — is this by choice that you’re having sex with him?
CALLER: Yeah. We’re in love. We’re going to get married.
CLINIC: Sure. But you understand that the government or the Social Services does require that we report that because they consider that — because you’re a teen and he’s an adult.
CALLER: Well, what can happen?
CLINIC: I don’t know what Social Services does once we report that. But that’s entirely up to you if you want to be seen here. But we’re required to do that. I can give you referrals of other places if you’re interested. But the first order of business for you is to really have a pregnancy test.
CALLER: Yeah. Well, if I didn’t tell anybody about him, would that be all right, and you wouldn’t have to say anything then?
CLINIC: Well, probably not being truthful is going to be a problem, but that’s up to you to decide what it is that you want to do. I wouldn’t make any recommendations to you on that score.
CALLER: Okay.
CLINIC: But let me give you some other providers too that might be helpful. First you want to give yourself a pregnancy test.
Mayfair is in Aurora. And that’s 303-696-9761. That’s another office. Dr. Bernstein, and that’s 303-399-6120.
CALLER: What was that last one?
CLINIC: 399-6120.
CALLER: Okay? So if I don’t tell them anything, that would be better?
CLINIC: That wouldn’t be an advice that I would give you.
CALLER: Okay. But if I tell them, then they would have to tell people?
CLINIC: We’re required by law to do so.
CALLER: Are they required by law too?
CLINIC: It’s a law that everybody’s required.
CALLER: Okay.
CLINIC: Okay? But the first order of business is you take a pregnancy test and make sure you’re using birth control, okay?
CALLER: Well, if it turned out that I wasn’t pregnant, could I come to you guys to get birth control?
CLINIC: We can give you a clinic that — because we just provide abortion services here. But what you can do is if you go to one our locations, they should be able to give birth control to you.
CALLER: And they wouldn’t have to tell anybody about anything if I was getting birth control?
CLINIC: Again, what I would say is, you obviously need to be truthful on your medical history. So what’s important is that you get taken care of, okay?
CALLER: Okay.
CLINIC: So at this point, find out if you’re pregnant. If you aren’t, you can call one of the other centers to get on some birth control, okay?
CALLER: Okay. All right. Thanks.
CLINIC: Bye bye.
***END***
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