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.

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