OFFICE OF DR. HAMILTON – OB/GYN UNLIMITED
MANCHESTER, NH 03104
603-224-5017

TAPE – 817

(Dialing, phone ringing 5x)

CLINIC: Hello?

CALLER: Hi. Is this Dr. Hamilton?

CLINIC: It is indeed.

CALLER: Hi. Yeah. I got your number from the machine when I called your office.

CLINIC: Yes?

CALLER: I was just wondering if you do abortions?

CLINIC: Of course I do.

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

CLINIC: It depends on how pregnant you are. If you are less than 11 weeks, it is $300.

CALLER: How do you know how many weeks you are?

CLINIC: Well, it’s based on the first day of your last menstrual period.

CALLER: Well, that was January 15th.

(Pause)

CLINIC: I’m sorry. I’m at a gallery right now.

CALLER: Oh, okay.

CLINIC: January 15th makes you — it makes you about eight weeks pregnant. And that would make you perfect. I don’t generally do them before eight weeks.

CALLER: Well, the thing is my main worry is, I’m going to be 14 later on this month, like on the 19th. 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, and you wouldn’t —

CLINIC: Wait, wait, wait, wait —

CALLER: — tell anybody.

CLINIC: Wait a second. You don’t have to tell — where are you calling from?

CALLER: I’m in Hillsboro.

CLINIC: Hillsboro. I don’t have to tell your parents. It has nothing to do with age or anything.

CALLER: Really?

CLINIC: No.

CALLER: Well, that’s what my friend told me.

CLINIC: Oh, cocka (?). If you’re in Massachusetts, yes, it’s true, but not here in New Hampshire.

CALLER: Really?

CLINIC: No.

CALLER: Well, me and my boyfriend were talking about all this. Like she said he would pay cash for everything, but we don’t want anyone to know about us. Would he have to sign anything if he has to pay for it?

CLINIC: No, no, no. That’s fine. That’s fine. You don’t have to worry about that. This is all confidential.

CALLER: Really?

CLINIC: Yes. Do you know what your blood type is?

CALLER: Well, no.

CLINIC: Because that’s a critical issue.

CALLER: Okay.

CLINIC: The reason I say that is because 15 percent of the population is what we call RH negative. Eighty-five percent of the population is RH positive. Now you’re going to say, what the hell does that mean.

CALLER: Yeah.

CLINIC: On the surface of our red blood cells there are protein complexes that we have been able to analyze. And we have given them arbitrary names. For example, if you have a certain protein complex, we call that A. If you have another certain protein complex, it’s called B. If you have both of them, it’s called AB. If you have neither, it’s called O. You follow me?

CALLER: Uh-huh.

CLINIC: That’s where your A, B, O comes from. There are multiple other protein complexes, one of which is called the RH factor. Again, 85 percent of the population has it; 15 percent doesn’t

Now, here’s the hooker. If you are RH negative, you need to get an injection of a medication called Rhogam to help protect you for future pregnancies. And I don’t really want to go into all the details right now. I’d be more than happy to do that in the future. But it’s important to know whether you’re RH negative or RH positive. If you’re RH positive, no problem. If you’re RH negative, that’s a problem. And then we would have to give you an injection of a medication called Rhogam. And that would cost you an additional $65.

CALLER: Okay.

CLINIC: All righty?

CALLER: Well, I haven’t had a pregnancy test yet. Would you guys do that beforehand just to make sure?

CLINIC: No, it’s something you should do to make sure.

CALLER: Well, where shall I go to get a pregnancy test?

CLINIC: Well, Family Planning, Planned Parenthood, one of those organizations.

CALLER: But would they have to tell anybody if I was there?

CLINIC: No. It’s all private, privileged, nobody’s business. No one is going to call your folks and say, “Oh, my God. Your daughter was here.” No. They’re not going to do that. This is all confidential stuff.

CALLER: Okay. So if it turned out that I was pregnant, how much money should we bring to come to you?

CLINIC: Well, first of all, we need to obtain a blood typing. We really don’t care whether you’re A, B, O or AB. We need to know whether you’re RH positive or RH negative. That’s really the critical issue. That you may have to go into a hospital and have done. Then the hospital is going to bill you. And they may bill you at your parent’s home. Do you understand where I’m coming from?

CALLER: Yeah.

CLINIC: Whether or not you can pay them directly is up to the hospital. Where are you calling from? What’s the hospital nearest you?

CALLER: I’m not really sure. We just moved here.

CLINIC: You’re in Hillsboro?

CALLER: Yeah.

CLINIC: Okay. So you’d probably come into Concord. And how old are you?

CALLER: I’m 13. I’ll be 14 on the 19th.

CLINIC: (Grumbling sound) That’s going to be a problem. What we’re going to probably have to do — just so you understand — the hospital will not blood work on somebody who is under 18. So what you’re going to probably have to do is on the day that we — if you want to schedule a procedure with us, you’re going to probably have to come in an hour early. We will draw the blood from you. And then Sandy, my office nurse, will send you or your partner over to the hospital to drop it off, and they will do the blood work. But again, understand that they will probably bill you at your home address or your partner’s address.

CALLER: So I can give my boyfriend’s address?

CLINIC: Yes, you certainly can, if that’s not a problem.

CALLER: Yeah. He said that that would be all right.

CLINIC: Now, from what you’ve just told me, you’re about eight weeks pregnant, which is the optimal time that I would want to do this. Now, a question to you. How soon do you want to do this?

CALLER: Well, I’ve got to take a pregnancy test first. But I just — as long as no one finds out, I don’t really care.

CLINIC: Well, you can go to the drug store and buy yourself a pregnancy test kit.

CALLER: Are those usually right though?

CLINIC: Well, most of them are pretty accurate unless you’re using marijuana.

CALLER: Oh, no.

CLINIC: I’m just telling you very honestly. Marijuana and aspirin can give you a false positive.

CALLER: Oh, okay.

CLINIC: If you normally have regular periods, and you haven’t been using any contraception, and your breasts are fuller and firmer and harder and painful, and you’re feeling kind of crappy in the morning — there are certain symptoms that go along with the fact that you probably are pregnant.

CALLER: Oh, okay.

CLINIC: Have you ever skipped periods before?

CALLER: Well, no. I’ve been like a week or two late before, but never this late.

CLINIC: Okay. Well, the other issue is to go into a Planned Parenthood clinic or a Family Planning clinic and have them do a pelvic exam on you, and just make sure that you are indeed pregnant. Or go to a drug store and get yourself a pregnancy test kit. And you collect a sample of urine, and you drop a drop into a — they’re pretty accurate.

CALLER: Okay.

CLINIC: Okay? Why don’t you check that first, get back to me. And if I can help you, I’ll be happy to do that.

CALLER: All right.

CLINIC: Okay?

CALLER: Okay. Thanks.

CLINIC: You’re welcome.

CALLER: Okay. Bye.

CLINIC: Bye now.

***END***

PLANNED PARENTHOOD
575 S. WILLOW ST. # 205
MANCHESTER, NH 3103-5792
603-624-1191

TAPE – 663

(Dialing, phone ringing 2x)

CLINIC: Good afternoon, Planned Parenthood.

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

CLINIC: No, we don’t.

CALLER: Oh. Well, do you know of anyplace that might?

CLINIC: Where are you calling from?

CALLER: I’m in Hillsboro.

CLINIC: Are you more closer to Concord?

CALLER: Well, it’s about the same distance it is between — I’m right between you and Concord.

CLINIC: I’ll give you a couple numbers in Concord. They only have one place, and it’s only between seven-and-a-half and eight weeks.

CALLER: Okay.

CLINIC: It’s the Concord Feminist Health Center. And their phone number is 225-2739. And there’s also OB/GYN Unlimited. And their phone number is 224-5017. And if you call them and they don’t answer, I believe they instruct you to leave your name and phone number, and they’ll give you a call back because they’re not always in the office.

CALLER: Well, the thing is, I’m going to be 14 later on this month, and my friend said 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: Well, you wouldn’t come here anyway because we don’t do that. How old are you?

CALLER: I’m going to be 14 on the 20th.

CLINIC: If you go to one of them I’m not sure if they have to tell your parents or not.

CALLER: Well, my boyfriend’s 22. Is that old enough to take care of it, and they wouldn’t have to —

CLINIC: It’s not his decision, and it’s not his appointment. So I don’t think he would really be able to do anything like that.

CALLER: Oh, okay.

CLINIC: You know what I mean. And you’re the one that’s going in. Unless say you were his daughter, then he could sign in for you. But since he’s only your boyfriend, no.

CALLER: Oh, all right. Could I come in there for a pregnancy test to see though? It’s just that I haven’t had my period since January 3rd, and I’m just really scared about all this.

CLINIC: I don’t have anything until either next week or the week after.

CALLER: Okay.

CLINIC: But I can tell you how far along you are by the date of your last period.

CALLER: It was January 3rd.

CLINIC: That was the first day of it?

CALLER: Yeah.

CLINIC: Right now it’s March. You’re probably eight-and-a-half weeks.

CALLER: Okay. So am I too far to go to the one place you were saying I should go?

CLINIC: No. You could call either of them, and they can see you.

CALLER: So I could still come in there for a pregnancy test just to make sure though?

CLINIC: Did you take a home test?

CALLER: Well, no.

CLINIC: Then why do you think you’re pregnant?

CALLER: Because I haven’t had my period for a long time.

CLINIC: Okay. I would do a home test because we can’t get you in until a few weeks.

CALLER: Oh. But are those usually right?

CLINIC: Don’t do a store brand. I would do like an EPT, you know a good brand.

CALLER: Okay. Well, if it ended up that I wasn’t pregnant, could I come in there for birth control?

CLINIC: Yeah, but you have to make an appointment.

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

CLINIC: No.

CALLER: Oh, okay. Me and my boyfriend talked about this, and we don’t want anybody to know about us. He’d be the only way I could get there. But if he was there, would you have to tell anybody?

CLINIC: Just because you are under age and he is older we might have to report you.

CALLER: Report me?

CLINIC: Um-hmm.

CALLER: To who? What do you mean?

CLINIC: To the state.

CALLER: Well, what could happen?

CLINIC: I don’t know if your parents would have to get involved or not, but it’s one thing we might have to do.

CALLER: I don’t want anyone to get in trouble. What can I do?

CLINIC: There’s nothing really. I don’t know. Just don’t tell them how old he is or anything like that, but they may find out anyway.

CALLER: Okay. So would it just be better that he wasn’t there?

CLINIC: Possibly. I mean, it depends. The only thing is you’re under the age of consent. That’s why.

CALLER: Well, I’ll be 14 on the 20th.

CLINIC: Yeah, it doesn’t matter. You’re still under.

CALLER: All right. I don’t know what to do. What should I do?

CLINIC: If you’re not pregnant, you can go down to the Teen Clinic — which is run by us on Thursdays; it’s a walk-in clinic for teens — and you can get birth control down there.

CALLER: Okay. But would anyone have to know about my boyfriend there?

CLINIC: No, not unless you don’t bring him.

CALLER: Oh, okay. Well, would anybody have to be told that I was on birth control though?

CLINIC: No. Nobody would find out, not your parents, your friends, or anybody.

CALLER: Well, would they have to report it or anything?

CLINIC: Not unless you don’t tell them how old he is.

CALLER: If I had any other questions, could I call and talk to you? What was your name?

CLINIC: My name’s Kathleen. You could call any of the sites.

CALLER: Okay.

CLINIC: Okay?

CALLER: All right. Thanks.

CLINIC: Thanks.

***END***