#723 – Office Of Dr. James Armstrong & Susan Cahill, Pa-c; Msw in Kaispell, MT

Listen to the Call:

Transcript:

OFFICE OF DR. JAMES ARMSTRONG & SUSAN CAHILL, PA-C; MSW
795 SUNSET BLVD.
KAISPELL, MT 59901
406-752-8104

TAPE – 723

(Dialing, phone ringing 1x)

CLINIC: Good afternoon, Dr. Armstrong’s office. This is Wendy.

CLINIC: 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?

CLINIC: How far along are you?

CALLER: I’m not really sure. I just haven’t had my period since like January 3rd.

CLINIC: Okay. I can give you some price ranges– 4 to 12 weeks would be 495; 13 to 14 would be 600; and then 15 to 18 would be 850.

CALLER: If my last period was January 3rd, do you know how far along I am?

CLINIC: Have you taken a pregnancy test at all?

CALLER: No.

CLINIC: You would need to do that to see first if you’re even pregnant, if it’s even positive. Let me just look here.

January 3rd. That was your first day?

CALLER: Yeah.

CLINIC: Today’s March 5th. It looks like if you are, it’s going to be around almost nine weeks, eight-and-a-half to nine.

CALLER: So that would be how much?

CLINIC: That would be the 495.

CALLER: Okay. The thing is, I’m going to be 14 later on this month, and my friend told me that you guys would have to tell my parents. But my boyfriend’s 22. Could he just sign whatever it is, and you wouldn’t have to tell anybody?

CLINIC: Actually, Montana state law, you do not have to reveal any of that information to your parents even if you’re under age.

CALLER: Oh, really?

CLINIC: No.

CALLER: Okay.

CLINIC: Yeah, Montana state law, you do not. You can get an abortion at 15 or 16, and your parents don’t need to know anything about it.

CALLER: Does anybody have to know about my boyfriend or anything?

CLINIC: Nope, nope. All confidential.

CALLER: Okay.

CLINIC: All between you and him, or just you, or however you want to do that.

Do you want to set up an appointment?

CALLER: Well, I have to call him to see. He’d be the only way I could get there. He said that he would pay for cash. He said he would pay cash for everything, but he doesn’t want to fill out any forms. Would he have to sign anything?

CLINIC: Nope, nope. It’s strictly confidential. All he does is pay and that’s it. And his name doesn’t even have to be revealed.

CALLER: So I could come in there and get a pregnancy test first though?

CLINIC: You can either do that or you can just get on one on the market too. They’re about as accurate as ours.

CALLER: Oh, really?

CLINIC: Yep. They’re about 98-99 percent accurate. You just would buy an over-the-counter pregnancy test. We would run one here too when you come in for your appointment.

CALLER: Okay.

CLINIC: Have you had your blood recently drawn anywhere?

CALLER: No.

CLINIC: We would also need to have you come in and have your blood type, because we need to know if you’re a positive blood type or a negative blood type and whether or not to give you the Rhogam shot.

CALLER: Well, does that cost some more?

CLINIC: If you’re negative, yes. It would be an additional $35. We’d have to administer the shot.

CALLER: Oh, okay. So if the pregnancy test turned out that I wasn’t pregnant, could I get birth control there?

CLINIC: Um-hmm. Yep. Where are you located at?

CALLER: I’m in Big Fork.

CLINIC: In Big Fork? It might be cheaper for you to try to get birth control through your like your family planning or something also.

CALLER: Well, my boyfriend said he would pay for everything. And he gave me your number to call. So I think he wants to go to you guys.

CLINIC: Oh. Okay.

CALLER: But if I was on birth control, would you have to tell anybody about that?

CLINIC: No, no. Everything is strictly patient confidentiality.

CALLER: And you’re sure no one has to know about my boyfriend and me?

CLINIC: That’s correct.

CALLER: Okay.

CLINIC: Do you want to set something up?

CALLER: Well, what times do you have? I need to call my boyfriend to see when he can get off work.

CLINIC: Okay. Hold on just one moment, okay?

CALLER: All right.

(Pause)

CLINIC: You’re still there?

CALLER: Uh-huh.

CLINIC: Okay. It looks like we’ve got some openings the week of the 18th.

CALLER: Would that be all right?

CLINIC: So what I need to do is put you in touch with one of the medical assistants because there’s a lot of information that they’re going to have to get written down on a piece of paper — your name, your number and all that — so that they know where to get in touch with you. Do you have time to talk to one of them right now?

CALLER: Well, I need to call my boyfriend and make sure that the date is okay. Can I call you back?

CLINIC: Uh-huh. You sure can. It looks like it’s going to be like the latter part of that week. I’m looking at either that Thursday or that Friday.

CALLER: Okay. Well, how long does the whole thing take? Should he take the whole day off?

CLINIC: No, no. It’s going to probably be about an hour, hour-and-a-half.

CALLER: Do you have it in the morning or the afternoon?

CLINIC: It looks like I have morning and also have a couple afternoons too.

CALLER: Oh, all right.

CLINIC: You want to check with him real quick, and then call me back?

CALLER: Yeah.

CLINIC: When you call back, hon, ask for either Simone or Debbie. Because they’re one of our medical assistants, and they’re the ones that schedule those appointments, okay?

CALLER: Okay. And your name was Wendy?

CLINIC: Uh-huh.

CALLER: All right.

CLINIC: Okay?

CALLER: Thank you.

CLINIC: You’re welcome.

CALLER: Bye.

CLINIC: Bye bye.

***END***

#724 – Blue Mountain Clinic in Missoula, MT

Listen to the Call:

Transcript:

BLUE MOUNTAIN CLINIC
610 N. CALIFORNIA ST.
MISSOULA, MT 59802
406-721-1646

TAPE – 724

(Dialing, phone ringing 1x)

CLINIC: Good afternoon, Blue Mountain Clinic.

CALLER: Hi. Yeah. I was calling to see if you guys do abortions there.

CLINIC: We do.

CALLER: How much does it cost for that?

CLINIC: It’s $425, and it’s payment at time of service, either cash or credit card.

CALLER: Well, my boyfriend said that he would pay cash.

CLINIC: I’m sorry?

CALLER: My boyfriend said he would pay for everything in cash.

CLINIC: Okay.

CALLER: The thing is, I’m going to be 14 on the 19th of this month, and my friend told me that you guys would have to tell my parents. But my boyfriend’s 22. Could he just take care of everything, and you wouldn’t have to tell anybody?

CLINIC: You know what, honey? Let me let you speak to a counselor, okay?

CALLER: Okay.

(Short pause)

CLINIC: You don’t need your parents’ permission for it. They will not contact your parents.

CALLER: Really?

CLINIC: Yeah.

CALLER: Okay. It’s just me and my boyfriend were talking about all this. And he said he would pay for everything, but we don’t want anyone to know about us. If he was paying, would he have to sign any forms?

CLINIC: No. No, honey. It’s all confidential.

CALLER: Well, I just haven’t had a pregnancy test yet. But I haven’t had my period since like January 3rd, and I’m just really scared.

CLINIC: Honey, you need to go ahead and get that done. Are you here in Missoula?

CALLER: I live in Frenchtown.

CLINIC: Okay. You need to go ahead and get that pregnancy test done.

CALLER: Do you guys do that there?

CLINIC: Yeah, we do. But you need to do that before we schedule for the surgery.

CALLER: Could I come in there before and do it and see?

CLINIC: Yes. When do you want to come in?

CALLER: When do you guys normally do them?

CLINIC: Pregnancy tests we do them all the time, anytime you want to come in, honey. You just let me know.

CALLER: What are your hours?

CLINIC: We are open from 9 to 6 Monday through Thursday, and 9 to 5 on Friday.

CALLER: Well, I have to call my boyfriend to see. But if it ended up that I wasn’t pregnant, could I get birth control there?

CLINIC: Yeah.

CALLER: It’s just me and my boyfriend don’t want to go through all this again.

CLINIC: Yes, I understand totally. But yeah, you could come in for that, but you would have to pay for the exam.

CALLER: Okay. Well, he said he’s pay for everything. But if I was on birth control, would you have to tell anyone about that though?

CLINIC: No. It would be confidential.

CALLER: I don’t need an appointment for the pregnancy test though?

CLINIC: You do. Yes, you do. Do you want to find out when he could bring you?

CALLER: Yeah. Let me call him and call you back. What was your name?

CLINIC: My name is Diane.

CALLER: Okay.

CLINIC: And what is your name, honey?

CALLER: It’s Lisa.

CLINIC: Okay. So just ask for me, and we’ll schedule you, okay?

CALLER: All right. Thanks.

CLINIC: All right.

***END***

#366 – Planned Parenthood in Missoula, MT

Listen to the Call:

Transcript:

PLANNED PARENTHOOD
219 E. MAIN ST
MISSOULA, MT 59802-4493
406-728-5490

TAPE – 366

(Dialing, phone ringing 1x)

RECORDING: Welcome to Planned Parenthood. Please listen carefully to the following options. The clinic will be closed on Monday, February 18th for President’s Day. If this is an emergency or you need weekend emergency contraception, please dial 1-800-472-4487. If you know your party’s extension, you may dial anytime. For a pill refill, press 1. To make an appointment, press 2. Press 3 for abortion information or to schedule an abortion. For all other calls, please press zero (dial button pressed).

One moment please.

(Phone ringing 1x)

CLINIC: Missoula Planned Parenthood. Could you hold, please?

CALLER: Yeah.

CLINIC: Thanks.

(Long pause)

CLINIC: Thanks for holding. How can I help you?

CALLER: Yeah. I was wondering if you guys do abortions there.

CLINIC: We do.

CALLER: Okay. Well, do you know how much that cost?

CLINIC: I would not be the one to inquire about that? Did you get the option to make an appointment for that? I know that it’s usually between 300 and 450.

CALLER: Oh, okay.

CLINIC: Okay?

CALLER: Well, I’m just really scared. I don’t know. My friend told me that since I’ll be 14 in March that you guys have to tell my parents that I’m getting an abortion. But my boyfriend’s 22. Is he old enough to take care of it, and you won’t have to tell anybody?

CLINIC: You know, I’m not sure about that. Let me put you on hold and grab somebody who knows more what they’re talking about and could give you more help.

CALLER: Okay.

CLINIC: Okay? Just a moment.

(Pause)

CLINIC: Hi. This is Brenda. Can I help you?

CALLER: Hi. Yeah. I was wondering — well, my friend told me that since I’ll be 14 in March that you guys have to tell my parents that I’m having an abortion. But my boyfriend’s 22. Could he take care of that, and you guys wouldn’t have to tell anybody about anything?

CLINIC: Are you there?

CALLER: I’m here.

CLINIC: No matter what age your partner is we would never tell anybody.

CALLER: Oh, okay.

CLINIC: You don’t have to report it to your parents, and we certainly don’t. I mean, we’re here to help you, not tell them.

CALLER: Okay.

CLINIC: Are you doing okay?

CALLER: Yeah. Well, I don’t know. I’m just scared.

CLINIC: How far along are you; do you know?

CALLER: I’m not real sure. My last period was December 14th.

CLINIC: Well, you need to get in here pretty quick then if this is what you want to do. The 14th of December?

CALLER: Yeah.

CLINIC: And was that a pretty normal period?

CALLER: Yeah.

CLINIC: Because right now you’re almost 10 weeks. Next week you’ll be ten-and-a-half weeks, almost 11, if that was a normal period. Are you in Missoula?

CALLER: I’m in Florence.

CLINIC: Okay. We could do a couple of things. My name is Brenda and I run the clinic here. I could schedule you for an ultra sound. You could come in for an ultra sound, and we could see how far along you are.

CALLER: How much does that cost?

CLINIC: Fifty dollars for the ultra sound. That comes off then the price of the abortion if you want one. And it’s cash, credit card or money order. We can’t accept personal checks.

CALLER: Well, my boyfriend said he would pay cash for everything.

CLINIC: Okay. So if you wanted to schedule to have that done, then we would know how far along you could wait or if we have to get you in real quick. We go up to 16 weeks, but the price goes up, and it’s a little more complicated procedure if you wait until — we don’t want you to wait until 16 weeks.

CALLER: Well, do you think that there’s any way that I couldn’t be pregnant? Could I get on birth control?

CALLER: If you’re not pregnant?

CALLER: Yeah.

CLINIC: Well, have you had a pregnancy test?

CALLER: No.

CLINIC: You just haven’t had a period since December?

CALLER: Right.

CLINIC: What I would do is get a home pregnancy test or you can come in here and we can do a pregnancy test, just a urine sample. But you can buy one over the counter or you can come in here. It’s $10, and we’ll give you the results in five minutes. If you wanted to do that — or you could just get one at the supermarket, and then go to the bathroom and take it yourself. I mean, they’re just the same.

CALLER: Are those usually right?

CLINIC: They usually are. Just follow the instructions very carefully. And you usually don’t have to wait until the morning urine. You can do them anytime during the day.

CALLER: Oh, okay. Well, if I came in there for a pregnancy test, is it all right if my boyfriend’s there with me?

CLINIC: Yeah.

CALLER: I just don’t know if I’d be able to do it right. I just would feel better if he was there.

CLINIC: Okay. And he’s supportive of you? Are you sure this is your decision and not his?

CALLER: Yeah. I mean, we’ve talked about it.

CLINIC: Do your parents know you’re seeing him?

CALLER: Yeah. They just don’t know we’re having sex. I mean, I don’t know what would happen if they found out. I don’t know.

CLINIC: We never say anything to anybody’s parents no matter what their age. That’s your business. We’re here just to help you. Since you are over 16, we have to have someone over 18 to call as an emergency contact. That person can’t be your partner though. Is there an aunt or a friend or a cousin or somebody over 18? Only in an emergency situation we would contact them.

CALLER: Well, what about my friend’s sister?

CLINIC: How old is she?

CALLER: She’s 20.

CLINIC: Does she know that you’re pregnant?

CALLER: No.

CLINIC: Okay. You can put her down. And again, it’s not that we’re going to call. We would only have to call them if you all of a sudden had to go to the hospital or life threatening, but that doesn’t happen.

CALLER: Oh, okay.

CLINIC: Never seen that happen. We just need someone over 18 to notify in case we had to if something happened to you.

CALLER: Well, after I am all done with this, could I get birth control there?

CLINIC: Oh yeah. We’ll send you home with a pack of pills the day you leave.

CLINIC: It’s just my boyfriend and I don’t want to have to go through this again.

CLINIC: Right. We don’t want you to do that. So we can give you a pack of pills when you leave. And we need you to come back for your two-week check-up just to make sure your cervix has healed and your uterus is back to normal size. And at that time, if you haven’t had an annual exam, we would do an annual exam and then set you up on pills for the rest of the year.

CALLER: Oh, okay. But if I was on birth control, you guys wouldn’t have to say anything to anybody about it?

CLINIC: No, honey. We would never tell anybody.

CALLER: All right.

CLINIC: Okay? So I don’t want you to worry about that.

CALLER: What was your name?

CLINIC: My name is Brenda.

CALLER: Okay.

CLINIC: If you want to come in for the pregnancy test, you do need to call the number again and touch zero or whatever the line number is for appointments. And just make an appointment. Say I just need to come in for a pregnancy test, and they’ll fit you in in the float hours. And when you get here we’ll run the pregnancy test. If you’re here and you want to do an ultra sound while you’re here too, then you need to schedule that for me. So you would just say, can I schedule an ultra sound with Brenda also.

CALLER: Okay.

CLINIC: If you know that you want an ultra sound, I can see you tomorrow, and we can just do the pregnancy test.

CALLER: Well, I don’t know. I’d have to call my boyfriend to see when he can bring me.

CLINIC: Okay. I’m here everyday. Thursdays aren’t a really good day because that’s the day we do the procedures. But I can just about see you anytime. I just need to schedule it.

CALLER: All right.

CLINIC: What was your name?

CALLER: I’m Christine.

CLINIC: We’ll take good care of you, Christine. It’s a great clinic here, and no one will ever know.

CALLER: Okay. Thanks.

CLINIC: All right. Bye bye.

CALLER: Bye.

***END***

#367 – Intermountain Planned Parenthood in Billings, MT

Listen to the Call:

Transcript:

INTERMOUNTAIN PLANNED PARENTHOOD
721 N. 29TH ST.
BILLINGS, MT 59101
406-245-6075

TAPE – 367

(Dialing, phone ringing 2x)

CLINIC: Outpatient Surgical Services. May I help you?

CALLER: Hi. Yeah. I was wondering if you guys do abortions there.

CLINIC: We do.

CALLER: Okay. Well, do you know how much that cost?

CLINIC: Well, it depends on a couple of different factors. I need to ask you some questions, okay?

CALLER: All right.

CLINIC: Is it for you?

CALLER: Yeah.

CLINIC: And how do you know you’re pregnant?

CALLER: Well, I missed my period. My last period was December 14th.

CLINIC: Okay. That was my next question. Are you pretty regular most of the time?

CALLER: Most of the time.

CLINIC: So right now today you would be at about the end of the ninth or the beginning of the tenth week, and you would have gotten pregnant around December 28th or 29th, somewhere around in there.

What city are you in?

CALLER: I live in Valentine.

CLINIC: Okay. So you would be coming to the Billings Clinic?

CALLER: Yeah.

CLINIC: And how old are you.

CALLER: I’ll be 14 in March.

CLINIC: Okay. Are your parents aware?

CALLER: No. They can’t find out at all. I can’t tell them. My boyfriend’s 22, and they don’t like him. They just think he’s too old for me. But if they found out that we were having sex, I don’t know what would happen.

CLINIC: Um-hmm. And is he aware that you’re pregnant?

CALLER: Yeah. He was the one that gave me your number.

CLINIC: Okay. Is he going to help you pay for it?

CALLER: Yeah. He said he was taking care of everything.

CLINIC: The earliest that I could schedule you would be in the middle of March.

CALLER: Okay.

CLINIC: And tell me again the first day of your last period.

CALLER: It was December 14th.

CLINIC: And I said that right now today you were at the end of the 9th, the 10th. By the time we could see you, you would be in the 13th or 14th week. And at that period of time — do you have any income yourself? You’re not working.

CALLER: No, I don’t have a job.

CLINIC: Okay. No insurance? And you’re not on Medicaid.

CALLER: Right.

CLINIC: For a procedure in the 13th through the 15th week the fee would be $670. Have you been to a clinic or seen a doctor or a nurse for pregnancy?

CALLER: No.

CLINIC: We would need to do an ultra sound when you come in — if you’re pretty certain about when your last period was.

CALLER: Yeah.

CLINIC: Okay. We will do an ultra sound when you first come in, and that will be $70. We need to know what the RH factor of your blood is. That’s part of your blood type. And RH factor is usually positive or negative. If you’re negative, it can have an impact on future pregnancies, so we need to know that. And just for that it’s $10. And we do a blood test in every pregnancy called hematocrit that measures the number of red blood cells in your blood and determines whether you’re anemic or not. And that will be $5. And there’s a test for a sexually transmitted disease called chlamydia, and that is 25. And based on the outcome of your RH test, if your blood is negative, there would be an extra charge of $80 for that. And it’s always a good idea to bring some extra money just in case something comes up. And I have not been adding this up.

CALLER: Okay. My boyfriend doesn’t want anybody to know. Would you guys have to tell anybody anything at all?

CLINIC: No, we don’t. However, because you’re 14 we would request that you have someone other than your boyfriend who is of age come with you and be responsible for you medically and financially.

CALLER: Oh. Well, he said that he was going to take care of everything. I don’t know of anyone else that could do it.

CLINIC: Do you have a female relative who’s older, an aunt or a sister or a cousin?

CALLER: No.

CLINIC: How about his mom?

CALLER: No. He doesn’t live with his parents.

CLINIC: Okay. A friend, a teacher, a counselor?

CALLER: No. I’m homeschooled.

CLINIC: Well, in order for us to schedule it for you we do need to have an adult other than your boyfriend who will be responsible for you medically and financially, even though he is taking care of everything. That is just our clinic policy. So you need to talk it over with him.

CALLER: Okay. Well, I could probably find somebody. But if we bring cash it’s all okay?

CLINIC: We do not accept personal checks, but we do accept everything else, including cash. And you do need to pay at the time that you come in for your first appointment. You would be coming in for three appointments all together over a period of two days. Your first appointment would be on the afternoon of the first day, and then you would have two appointments the following day. One would be early in the morning, and the other one would be later in the morning or early afternoon.

CALLER: Okay. Well, after this is all done and stuff, could I get birth control so that we don’t have to go through all this again?

CLINIC: You sure can. As a matter of fact, we’re not going to let you out the door without giving you something.

CALLER: Okay. But you guys wouldn’t have to tell anybody that I was on birth control?

CLINIC: Uh-uh, no.

CALLER: And you wouldn’t have to say anything about my boyfriend?

CLINIC: For what?

CALLER: Well, I don’t know. Just to anybody at all.

CLINIC: No. That’s all your business.

CALLER: Okay.

CLINIC: Okay? Does that help? Why don’t you talk with him and see if you can find someone besides him who can be responsible for you. And then give us a call back, and we’ll get you scheduled in. We need to do that pretty soon because we’re booking out a month ahead.

CALLER: So what was your name so that I could call you back?

CLINIC: Well, you can talk to anybody who answers the phone.

CALLER: All right.

CLINIC: Okay? We’re all interchangeable here. And it does take about 10 or 15 minutes on the phone to set up the appointment.

CALLER: Well, you were just so nice, I don’t know that I really want to talk to anybody else.

CLINIC: We’re all nice here (chuckle). Take my word for it. That’s what we’re in business for. Okay?

CALLER: All right.

CLINIC: Okay?

CALLER: All right. Thanks.

CLINIC: Good luck. Bye.

***END***

#364 – Planned Parenthood in Great Falls, MT

Listen to the Call:

Transcript:

PLANNED PARENTHOOD
211 9TH ST S
GREAT FALLS, MT 59405-2115
406-454-3431

TAPE – 364

(Dialing, phone did not ring)

RECORDING: Thank you for calling the Great Falls Planned Parenthood. For your pill refill, please press 1. For appointments or to speak with one of our staff members in the office, please press 2 (dial button pressed.)

Please hold.

(Pause)

(Phone ringing 1x)

CLINIC: Good afternoon, Planned Parenthood.

CALLER: Hi. I was wondering if you guys do abortions there.

CLINIC: No, we don’t. I have the name of some doctors in town that do.

CALLER: All right.

CLINIC: If you could hold for me, and I can just get that notebook.

CALLER: Okay.

CLINIC: Okay.

(Pause)

CLINIC: Okay. Are you in Great Falls?

CALLER: Well, I live in Carter.

CLINIC: In where?

CALLER: Carter.

CLINIC: Carter. How far is that from Great Falls?

CALLER: About 30 minutes.

CLINIC: About 30 minutes? Okay. The doctors that we have is Dr. — I can’t even pronounce the name — Kindau (ph).

CALLER: How do you spell that?

CLINIC: It’s K-u-y-k-e-n-d-l-l. And he accepts up to 20 weeks.

CALLER: Okay. Well, now do you know how many weeks you are?

CLINIC: You’d have to do a pregnancy test and go through that. And it’s from —

(Talking to someone else) A pregnancy test goes from the last day of your menstrual period?

Oh, the date that you may have conceived, that you think you possibly conceived the child. And it would go from there.

CALLER: I’m not really sure. I’m must really scared. My last period was December 14th, and I don’t know what to do.

CLINIC: December? And you’re not on the pill or anything?

CALLER: No. Well, my friend told me that since I’ll be 14 in March that they would have to tell my parents. But I can’t tell my parents at all. But my boyfriend’s 22. Could he do whatever my parents need to do, and it would be all right?

CLINIC: (Talking to somebody else) She can come in for a pregnancy test, and it’s kept confidential.

Okay. If you could have your brother bring you in. And anything that’s done here is kept confidential. We only release what information and who you want us to release it to. Other than your coming here, you don’t exist. No one knows. If anyone calls, we can’t give out the information until we get a signed consent from you saying that it’s okay.

So, yeah. If your brother brings you in —

CALLER: My brother? I don’t have a brother.

CLINIC: Oh. Who were you talking about?

CALLER: My boyfriend.

CLINIC: Oh, your boyfriend. Yeah, he can bring you in.

CALLER: Oh, okay. And you guys wouldn’t have to say anything about him?

CLINIC: No, no, no. Nothing. Anything that come sin here, anything that is done, is not released unless you give us permission to do so. If anybody calls here from your family inquiring if you had been here, we would tell them no.

CALLER: Okay. Well, would you guys have to tell my parents if I was having an abortion?

CLINIC: I don’t know how that works. I don’t know how you would schedule that if you do that since we don’t do them here. I know the one in Billings they have the outpatient surgical. That’d be something that you’d have to work out with the doctors. I know Dr. Joyner — can you hold for a minute, please?

CALLER: Yeah.

(Pause)

CLINIC: Okay. I know the one doctor here has parental consent; it needs parental consent over 18. Now that first doctor’s name, I don’t know how he works. It doesn’t say here. So I guess if you are pregnant and you were going to have that done, I would talk to the first doctor’s name that I gave you, the K-u-y-k-u-n-d-l-l.

CALLER: Okay.

CLINIC: And there number is 761-7924. And that’s the doctor I would choose to talk to I guess.

Would you like to set up an appointment to come in and have a pregnancy test done?

CALLER: Yeah. I just have to talk to my boyfriend to see when he could take me. If the pregnancy test ended up being that I wasn’t pregnant, would I be able to get birth control there?

CALLER: Yes, um-hmm.

CALLER: Would you guys have to tell anybody that I was on birth control?

CLINIC: No, no. Nope, nope, nope. Everything is confidential. It’s up to you whoever you want to share the information to. That’s up to you. You come here — like I said, you come here and you do your thing, and you’re gone. And that’s it. We don’t see you until you come in for your next pill cycle or Depo shot or whatever birth control you’re going to choose to use.

CALLER: Okay. Well, I’ve got to call my boyfriend. Can I call you back? What was your name?

CLINIC: Carol.

CALLER: Okay.

CLINIC: Okay?

CALLER: Thank you.

CLINIC: You’re welcome. Bye bye.

CLINIC: Bye.

***END***

#365 – Planned Parenthood in Helena, MT

Listen to the Call:

Transcript:

PLANNED PARENTHOOD
1500 CANNON ST.
HELENA, MT 59601-2042
406-443-7676

TAPE- 365

(Dialing, phone ringing 3x)

RECORDING: Thank you for calling Planned Parenthood. For your pill refill, please press 1. For all other calls, press 2 (dial button pressed).

Please hold.

(Pause)

(Phone ringing 1x)

CLINIC: Planned Parenthood. This is Kim.

CALLER: Hi. Yeah. I was wondering if you guys do abortions there.

CLINIC: We do. Can I put you on hold for a moment?

CALLER: Yeah.

(Short pause)

CLINIC: Sorry about that. Yes, we do.

CALLER: Okay. Well, do you know how much it cost?

CLINIC: Well, the person you need to speak with is Deb. She handles all that for us. So I’ll put you through to her.

CALLER: Okay.

(Pause)

CLINIC: Thanks for holding. This is Rose. How can I help you?

CALLER: Hi. Yeah. I was wanting to know — I had a few questions about getting an abortion.

CLINIC: Okay. Let me put you on with Debbie. One moment.

CALLER: Okay.

(Short pause)

CLINIC: This is Debbie. Can I help you?

CALLER: Yeah. I was wondering how much it cost to have an abortion?

CLINIC: Well, let me ask you a couple questions. What was the first day of your last period?

CALLER: It was like around December 14th.

CLINIC: And have you had an exam done?

CALLER: No.

CLINIC: You haven’t? December 14th. And do you have insurance that might help cover?

CALLER: No. My boyfriend said he would take care of everything.

CLINIC: He did? Okay.

CALLER: My friend told me that since I’ll be 14 in March that you guys would have to tell my parents I was having an abortion. But my boyfriend’s 22. Could he just take care of everything, and you wouldn’t have to tell anybody?

CLINIC: You’re going to be 14?

CALLER: Yeah.

CLINIC: And your boyfriend’s 22?

CALLER: Uh-huh.

CLINIC: Holy smokes. Wow. First, there’s no parental consent law in Montana. So no. We wouldn’t have to contact — and your folks know that you’re dating this fellow?

CALLER: Well, they don’t know that we’re having sex. They couldn’t find out at all. I don’t know what would happen if they found out.

CLINIC: I understand that.

CALLER: But they know we’re going out. They just don’t like him because they think he’s too old for me. But he’s only 22.

CLINIC: I know. That’s almost 10 years though.

CALLER: We’re in love. We’re going to get married.

CLINIC: Gosh. I’m not going to judge any of that. Just know that whatever happens here is absolutely confidential.

CALLER: Okay.

CLINIC: It looks like based on December 14th — it sounds like you’re not quite sure if that is the date or not that your last period was.

CALLER: I’m pretty sure.

CLINIC: Let me tell you, if you’re less than 13 weeks, it’s going to be $475. If you’re more than 13 weeks, it’s going to be $575.

CALLER: Okay.

CLINIC: Because of your age and because I have a feeling — you’re about 10 weeks right now. The doc is probably going to want to do the procedure in two parts. So plan on $575. Plan on that.

What town do you live in?

CALLER: I live in Winston.

CLINIC: In Winston. You do need to have an exam done. Can you make it in to the clinic here to have that done?

CALLER: Yeah.

CLINIC: Okay? Let me go to the appointment book. Let’s see if we can find a time.

CALLER: Well, I have to talk to my boyfriend to see when he can get off work, because that would be the only way I could get there.

CLINIC: Okay. We’re open later on Wednesday evenings. But talk to him, all right? And then give us a call down here and let’s get you set up for an exam.

CALLER: Do you think that there would be any way that I wasn’t pregnant? Could I get on birth control there?

CLINIC: Yeah, definitely. Have you had a positive pregnancy test?

CALLER: No.

CLINIC: You haven’t.

CALLER: I’m just really scared. I haven’t had my period in a while.

CLINIC: Okay. Is that unusual for you?

CALLER: Yeah.

CLINIC: Okay. And when you had intercourse, were you using condoms or anything like that?

CALLER: No. That’s why we want to get on birth control so we don’t have to worry about this anymore.

CLINIC: Yeah. The odds are if you don’t usually miss a period and you didn’t use any kind of contraceptive, you probably are pregnant. The odds are. I can’t say that for certain until we do a test or an exam. You might want to have him pick up a home test.

CALLER: Are those usually accurate?

CLINIC: Fairly, yeah. Fairly accurate. Or just wait until you come in here for an exam. And then we can go ahead and do that for you.

CALLER: But if I wasn’t pregnant, you could do birth control, and you wouldn’t have to tell anybody?

CLINIC: No, absolutely not.

CALLER: The thing is I can’t drive yet, so would it be all right if my boyfriend picked everything up?

CLINIC: No. We need to see you. You mean after you get started, after you come in?

CALLER: Yeah.

CLINIC: Yeah, sure. Sure.

CALLER: Okay. Well, would he have to sign anything or anything? He’s just worried that — he doesn’t want me to get in trouble.

CLINIC: He doesn’t want you to get in trouble or he doesn’t want himself to get in trouble?

CALLER: Well, he doesn’t want us to get in trouble.

CLINIC: Yeah. No. He doesn’t have to sign anything.

My main concern is that he’s 23 and you’re just 14 — or he’s 22, and you’re just —

CALLER: He’s only 22.

CLINIC: Right.

CALLER: But I’ll be 14 in March.

CLINIC: Yeah, yeah. Okay. Well, talk to him. Call us when you think you can —

CALLER: Well, what was your concern about that? What do you mean?

CLINIC: Because of the age disparity he could be prosecuted.

CALLER: Prosecuted?

CLINIC: Right.

CALLER: What do you mean? What would happen?

CLINIC: Because a person of your age can’t consent to sex.

CALLER: But I can. What do you mean?

CLINIC: I mean by state law. A person your age — let’s say anybody who’d under 18 doesn’t have legal standing of being able to give their consent. And because his age is so much greater than yours, I don’t know that that’s anything we would to report. I don’t think it is. That would be up to your parents.

CALLER: But you guys wouldn’t tell my parents though, right?

CLINIC: Right. Right.

CALLER: And you wouldn’t tell anybody else either?

CLINIC: Why don’t we both do some checking, okay? Why don’t you talk with your boyfriend and come up with several different time slots where you could come in. And I’m going to make some phone calls and find out if we’d be compelled to report, okay? And then you and I can be honest about it without risking anything, okay?

CALLER: Okay.

CLINIC: So you call me back. My name’s Debbie.

CALLER: Debbie?

CLINIC: Yep.

CALLER: All right. Thanks.

CLINIC: Uh-huh. Bye.

***END***