Listen to the Call:
Transcript:
SPRINGFIELD HEALTHCARE CENTER
1837 E. CHERRY ST.
SPRINGFIELD, MO 65802
417-831-7298
TAPE – 834
(Dialing, phone ringing 2x)
CLINIC: Pinefield Health Care Center. How can I help you?
CALLER: Hi. Yeah. I was calling to see if you guys do abortions there.
CLINIC: Yes, we do.
CALLER: Do you know how much it cost for that?
CLINIC: It depends on how far along you are.
CALLER: How do you know how far along you are?
CLINIC: Well, do you know when your last period was?
CALLER: January 15th.
CLINIC: And was it a normal period for you?
CALLER: Yeah.
CLINIC: We have a little wheel that they use in the gynecologist office and everything. It kind of helps determine that. If I put it as your last period on the 15th of January, that puts you approximately — let’s see, today’s the 12th — right at the beginning of nine weeks from your last period. Anything under 12 weeks, it’s 575.
CALLER: All right.
CLINIC: What that includes is your lab work and ultra sound, medication before the procedure, the actual procedure, your follow-up exam, two months of birth control. What is not included is if you’re a negative blood type. Do you know what blood type you are?
CALLER: No.
CLINIC: If you’re a negative blood type, it would be $60 more for the Rhogam shot that you have to have. And the only other fee would be your medications afterwards, which should just be one, which would be your antibiotic, which generally runs about $9 if you don’t have insurance.
CALLER: The thing is, I’m kind of worried. My boyfriend said that he would pay cash for everything. I’m worried because I’m going to be 14 later on this month, and my friend said that you guys would have to tell my parents. Buy my boyfriend’s 22, and he said he would take care of everything. Would that be all right, and you wouldn’t have to tell anybody?
CLINIC: No. We still have to have one parent to consent. They have to be here to sign the paperwork and everything. Do they know about your boyfriend?
CALLER: Yeah, they know we’re going out, but they have no idea we’re having sex. I can’t tell them that at all. I mean, they’d be furious if they found out about that.
CLINIC: Well, probably to start off, they would be. But eventually they’re going to have to realize that you were responsible enough to let them know.
CALLER: But I can’t tell them at all.
CLINIC: You’re going to have to. The thing is, is that I know that’s going to be extremely difficult. But sooner or later they’re going to find out anyway.
CALLER: How?
CLINIC: Because you’re going to get further and further along.
CALLER: Well, is there anyplace else I could go and they wouldn’t have to tell my parents or anybody?
CLINIC: Not to my knowledge.
CALLER: So there’s nothing I can do then?
CLINIC: Not that I know of. I’m trying to think.
Are you absolutely positive that was a normal period?
CALLER: Yeah.
CLINIC: Because sometimes you can have normal periods and still be pregnant. That’s really the only thing that bothers me, is you might be further along than we think, which gives you less time to find somewhere else to go, or to come here, tell your parents, whatever.
CALLER: Well, would I be able to come in there for a pregnancy test just to make sure?
CLINIC: Do you guys live in town, in Springfield?
CALLER: Yeah.
CLINIC: That might be the easiest thing. Because we don’t have to have parental consent to do an ultra sound or pregnancy test.
CALLER: Oh, okay.
CLINIC: So we can at least do that. In the meantime, I can try to figure out if there’s anyplace that you can go.
CALLER: Okay. But no one would have to know about the pregnancy test then?
CLINIC: No. Nobody would have to know about the pregnancy test.
CALLER: Well, me and my boyfriend were talking about all this, and we don’t want anyone to know about all this. But he said he would pay for everything. Would he have to fill out any forms or have his name on anything if he was paying?
CLINIC: No. If you want to do just the pregnancy test, it’s $5. If you want to do an ultra sound — because that’s really the only way we can actually tell for sure how far along you are — the ultra sound is $100.
CALLER: So that would be better then?
CLINIC: I would think so, just to be on the safe side. Because if for some reason you’re 16 weeks, that’s going to put you in a time crunch, where you have to do something fairly quickly, at least for the state of Missouri.
CALLER: If it turned out that I wasn’t pregnant, could I get birth control from you guys?
CLINIC: We could get you started, and then you could go to Planned Parenthood because they do not need parental consent to give you birth control.
CALLER: Well, do you guys need parental consent for birth control?
CLINIC: No. But we don’t have a doctor that can actually — they’re going to have to have a doctor talk to you and everything. We can get you started on it. But to continue on it, you need to see their nurse practitioner or their doctor. But they don’t need parental consent for that.
CALLER: Okay.
CLINIC: Okay?
CALLER: But are you sure no one would have to know about me and my boyfriend for the pregnancy test?
CLINIC: No, not at all.
CALLER: If I had any other questions, could I call and talk to you? What was your name?
CLINIC: My name’s Tammy.
CALLER: Okay.
CLINIC: Okay? And yeah, you’re more than welcome to call.
CALLER: All right.
CLINIC: And you can talk to myself or Michele.
CALLER: Okay.
CLINIC: Okay?
CALLER: All right. Thanks.
CLINIC: You’re welcome.
CALLER: Bye.
CLINIC: Bye bye.
***END***