MICHIGAN ABORTION CLINIC
703 E. MAIN ST.
NILES, MI 49120
616-683-6100

TAPE – 783

(Dialing, phone ringing 1x)

CLINIC: McShehan (ph) Medical Center. May 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: It depends on how far you are. Have you had a positive test?

CALLER: No.

CLINIC: Okay. You need to do that first. When was your last period?

CALLER: January 3rd.

CLINIC: Right now we are scheduling for — we do procedures on Tuesdays only. It would be Tuesday, 19th of March. And if your dates are correct, the fee would be 400. But if you wait any longer than that, then it’s going to go up to 500.

CALLER: Do you guys do the pregnancy test there?

CLINIC: You need to do a pregnancy test first. Yeah, we do do pregnancy tests here. We do them on Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays any time between 9 and 4. You have to bring a first-morning urine specimen, because the pregnancy hormones are more concentrated in the first-morning urine. So next week you can come on Wednesday, Thursday or Friday. We’ll run the test. And if it’s positive, then you can make the appointment.

CALLER: My main question 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 everything —

CLINIC: No.

CALLER: — and you don’t have to tell anybody?

CLINIC: Nope. It’s a law both in Indiana and Michigan that you have to have a parent come and sign to have the abortion procedure. Now, there is a thing called a judicial bypass where you have to go — what state do you live in?

CALLER: I live in Michigan.

CLINIC: Okay. You have to go before a judge, and then he grants what is call the judicial bypass, then you don’t have to tell your parents. But the problem is you’re running short on time as far as the fee being more. The only other alternative that you have is you can go to Chicago and have the procedure done there. They do not have parental consent there.

CALLER: Well, my boyfriend said he would pay cash for everything. But we were talking about it and we don’t want anyone to know about us. If he was paying for everything, would he have to sign anything or fill out any forms?

CLINIC: No.

CALLER: Oh, okay. How much does a judicial bypass cost?

CLINIC: It doesn’t cost anything that I know of.

CALLER: Oh, okay. If the pregnancy test turned out that I wasn’t pregnant, could I come in there and get some birth control from you guys?

CLINIC: Yeah. But there’s a fee for it. You have to have an exam and a pap smear and all that kind of stuff.

CALLER: How much is that?

CLINIC: Well, the initial exam is $75.

CALLER: Well, my boyfriend said that he would pay for everything. We just don’t want to worry about all this anymore.

CLINIC: Right, right. But the first thing you need to do is get a pregnancy test, okay?

CALLER: All right.

CLINIC: So let’s start there.

CALLER: Do I come in to where you’re at to get one?

CLINIC: Yeah.

CALLER: When do you normally do them?

CLINIC: I just told you. We do them on Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays, but not tomorrow. We’re having a clinic day tomorrow that we normally don’t have. So it has to be next week, Wednesday, Thursday or Friday, any time between 9 and 4. You don’t have to have an appointment for the pregnancy test, but you have to be here between 9 and 4.

CALLER: Well, how long does it take?

CLINIC: Two minutes.

CALLER: Oh, okay.

CLINIC: It’s just with a urine test. Where do you live? What city do you live in?

CALLER: I live in Three Rivers.

CLINIC: Oh. I was going to say, is there a health department there?

CALLER: I don’t know. My boyfriend just gave me the number to talk to you guys because he would rather go to you.

CLINIC: Well, you come here for the procedure, but I mean you don’t have to come this far to have a pregnancy test done. If there’s a health department in your town, which there usually should be — you can look in your phone book under your county, the name of your county, and it will tell you where your health department is.

CALLER: Oh. But would they have to tell anybody if I was there for that?

CLINIC: No, no, no. No. They don’t tell people anything. And they offer free pregnancy tests also. Or you can even go to the drug store and buy the at-home tests.

CALLER: Are those usually right though?

CLINIC: Yeah, but you need to read the directions and follow the directions. So you can do that. You can just do it at home.

CALLER: Okay.

CLINIC: If it’s positive, then you call us. And then we can make an appointment for you and all that stuff.

CALLER: So what was your name again?

CLINIC: My name is Tam (?). Now, the only thing is, like I told you, if you come here, either your mom has to come or your father has to come. See? Because it’s a law —

CALLER: But what about the judicial bypass?

CLINIC: Well, if you go do that, then the judge will give you a sheet of paper that says that you have a judicial bypass. And then you have to bring that here with you.

CALLER: And he won’t tell my mom and dad?

CLINIC: Nope.

CALLER: Oh, okay.

CLINIC: Nope.

CALLER: All right. So I’ll just get a pregnancy test, and then call you back, all right?

CLINIC: Yep. Okay.

CALLER: Thank you.

CLINIC: You’re welcome. Bye bye.

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