SUMMIT MEDICAL CENTER
15801 W. MC NICHOLS RD.
DETROIT, MI 48235
313-272-8450
TAPE – 781
(Dialing, phone ringing 1x)
CLINIC: Thomas Medical Center. (Unclear) speaking. May I help you?
CALLER: Hi. Yeah. I was calling to see if you guys do abortions there.
CLINIC: Yes, we do.
CALLER: How much does it cost for that?
CLINIC: When was your last menstrual cycle?
CALLER: January 3rd.
CLINIC: For 12 weeks, the fee is $275. Are you a student or do you have a Medicaid card?
CALLER: Well, no. My main thing is I’m going to be 14 later on this month, and my friend —
CLINIC: You’ll be what?
CALLER: 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: No, he’s not. No, he’s not.
CALLER: Okay. So what do I do?
CLINIC: Umm, hold on a second.
CALLER: Okay.
RECORDING: — so please ask our staff.
Thomas Medical Center is located in the northwest area of Detroit on McNichols (ph) near Greenfield (ph). Our hours are Monday, Tuesday and Thursday from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Wednesday from 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m., Friday from 7 a.m. to 6:30 p.m., and Saturday from 8 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. You may stop in anytime for a free pregnancy test.
— if the condom breaks, you miss a pill, or you just goofed, there is still something you can do to prevent pregnancy. The Morning After pill treatment is a low-cost, second chance for preventing pregnancy. To be effective the treatment must begin within 72 hours of unprotected intercourse. Ask about the Morning After pill, and a counselor will be happy to give you further detail.
CLINIC: Hello?
CALLER: Um-hmm.
CLINIC: Do you have a close relative or an aunt or cousin or something that’s over 18?
CALLER: No. My boyfriend’s 22.
CLINIC: Yeah, you keep talking about your boyfriend. But do you know it’s against the law for him to be with you?
CALLER: What do you mean?
CLINIC: What I mean is you’re a minor. And he can go to jail for being with you.
CALLER: He can go to jail?
CLINIC: Yes.
CALLER: Why? I mean, he can’t go to jail. He’s the only one that’s here for me.
CLINIC: It doesn’t matter. You’re under age.
CALLER: Well, what am I suppose to do?
CLINIC: I don’t know what you’re suppose to do.
CALLER: Well, what can I do?
CLINIC: Nothing. Because if you take him anywhere with you, he’s going to go to jail.
CALLER: Well, I don’t want him to go to jail.
CLINIC: Well, he will.
CALLER: How can I get an abortion and not let him go to jail?
CLINIC: You can’t. You have to have your parents’ permission.
CALLER: But I can’t tell them.
CLINIC: That’s the only thing that you can do.
CALLER: But I can’t tell them at all.
CLINIC: That’s the only option that you have, sweetie.
CALLER: Well, is there anyplace else I could go?
CLINIC: No. You really don’t understand what I’m saying. What I’m saying is, you are under age. You’re a minor. He is 22 years old. It’s against the law. It’s against the law for him to be with a 14-year-old girl.
CALLER: Okay. But he loves me.
CLINIC: It doesn’t matter. Nothing that you says matter because you are a minor.
CALLER: Oh. So there’s no way that I can —
CLINIC: The only option that you have is either telling your parents and having them come and sign for you or if you can find an aunt or a cousin or something like that. They can bring you in and that is a support person for you. And you can get a judicial bypass where you won’t have to tell your parents. But you will have to tell some adult relative and let them be your support person in order to even get a judicial bypass.
CALLER: What’s a judicial bypass?
CLINIC: That’s where you go before the judge, and the judge grants you maturity to make the decision on your own.
CALLER: Well, do the judges ever say no?
CLINIC: Yeah, it’s a possibility. It depends on how mature you are.
CALLER: Do I need to get a lawyer for that?
CLINIC: No, you don’t.
CALLER: Oh, okay.
CLINIC: Like I said, you have to have an adult relative or a support person in order to do that. And it has to be a relative, not your boyfriend.
CALLER: Well, could it be a friend?
CLINIC: But with him down there, they’re going to arrest him.
CALLER: Well, could it be a friend?
CLINIC: No. It has to be a relative.
CALLER: Do you guys do pregnancy tests there just to make sure I am pregnant?
CLINIC: Yes, we do.
CALLER: I just haven’t one of those yet.
CLINIC: You can walk in for a pregnancy test today up until 4:30.
CALLER: Okay. But would you have to tell anybody then?
CLINIC: No.
CALLER: My boyfriend has to bring me. He’d be the only way I could get there. Would you get him arrested?
CLINIC: No.
CALLER: Okay. If it turned out that I wasn’t pregnant, do you guys do birth control there?
CLINIC: Yes, we do. And you can make an appointment for that if the results came back that you were not pregnant.
CALLER: Would anybody have to know if I was getting birth control though?
CLINIC: No.
CALLER: And you wouldn’t have to tell anybody about my boyfriend?
CLINIC: No, we would not.
CALLER: The thing is, I can’t drive. Would my boyfriend be able to pick up the pills?
CLINIC: No. You would have to pick them up.
CALLER: Well, you’ve been really helpful. Could I call you if — I just had no idea —
CLINIC: For more information?
CALLER: Yeah. What was your name?
CLINIC: My name is Autumn.
CALLER: Okay. Thanks
CLINIC: All right. Bye bye.
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