PLANNED PARENTHOOD
215 MARKET ST.
PERTH AMBOY, NJ 8861-4330
732-442-4499
732-842-9300

TAPE – 065

(dialing sounds) (ringing 1X)

CLINIC: Planned Parenthood. May I help you?

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

CLINIC: We don’t do them here. Our main clinic does. Do you want their number?

CALLER: Yeah.

CLINIC: Okay, it’s 732-842-9300.

CALLER: 9300?

CLINIC: Um-hum.

CALLER: Okay. Can I ask you a couple questions?

CLINIC: Go ahead.

CALLER: Well, like my friend told me that you guys have to tell my parents before I can have an abortion. Is that true?

CLINIC: That’s false.

CALLER: Oh. Okay.

CLINIC: We don’t have to tell your parents anything.

CALLER: Okay.

CLINIC: We don’t tell your parents anything.

CALLER: Okay. Because if they found out —

CLINIC: Everything is confidential.

CALLER: Yeah. If they found out I would be in big trouble. They can’t stand my boyfriend.

CLINIC: To us it’s like none of their business, you know what I mean? (laughs)

CALLER: Yeah.

CLINIC: That’s why you come to us. You know what I mean?

CALLER: Okay.

CLINIC: Because minors have rights here. And we don’t inform your parents of anything.

CALLER: Okay.

CLINIC: Okay, hon?

CALLER: Well, yeah. All right.

CLINIC: You can call them and — well, where do you live?

CALLER: Well, I live in Middletown.

CLINIC: Okay. Maybe, Spotswood is probably closer for you. Maybe you need to go in for a pregnancy test because you know you’re pregnant already?

CALLER: Well, I took a pregnancy test over the weekend, and —

CLINIC: It came out positive?

CALLER: Yeah.

CLINIC: Okay. The only way we can like give you a referral to go somewhere, you have to come into our clinic and get a pregnancy test. We have to confirm it and then we counsel you and give you a referral.

CALLER: Okay.

CLINIC: You can call Spotswood. Spotswood is close to you, right?

CALLER: Well, I don’t know.

CLINIC: Yeah, because you live in Middletown, yeah. I think it’s closer to you. You know where Perth Amboy is?

CALLER: Huh?

CLINIC: We’re in Perth Amboy. You know where we are?

CALLER: Yeah. Well, my boyfriend knows.

CLINIC: Okay. Do you just want to make an appointment for a pregnancy test?

CALLER: Well, I don’t know. They don’t have to tell anybody, right?

CLINIC: I’m sorry?

CALLER: They don’t have to tell anybody, right?

CLINIC: No. We won’t tell anybody.

CALLER: Okay.

CLINIC: This is your business.

CALLER: Even like is there an age requirement or anything?

CLINIC: There’s no age requirement.

CALLER: Okay. So it’s all right if like — like I’m going to be 14 in March.

CLINIC: It don’t matter.

CALLER: It doesn’t matter?

CLINIC: No, hon.

CALLER: All right.

CLINIC: Okay?

CALLER: My friend also told me that you guys have to know that, how old my boyfriend is.

CLINIC: We don’t have to know any information about your boyfriend. Whoever’s giving you this information is misinforming you.

CALLER: Okay.

CLINIC: Okay? So you did the right thing by calling here.

CALLER: Okay.

CLINIC: We give you the accurate information. Don’t listen to your friends because they’re giving you misinformation, okay?

CALLER: Well, she said that —

CLINIC: We don’t have to know anything about your boyfriend.

CALLER: Okay.

CLINIC: Okay? You need to come in as a patient. Come in for a pregnancy test. We’ll — if you are pregnant we’ll confirm it, and then the nurse will counsel you and refer you.

CALLER: Okay.

CLINIC: Okay, hon?

CALLER: Well, like — all right.

CLINIC: Go ahead.

CALLER: If like he — he said that we should look into birth control. Like —

CLINIC: Yes, maybe you should.

CALLER: Okay.

CLINIC: That’s definitely a good idea for you. If you’re sexually active you should be on some type of birth control. We supply that here too. So if you come in for pregnancy tests and you’re confirmed and — do you know what you would want to do? You want to avoid it?

CALLER: Well, I — yeah.

CLINIC: Okay. So after you do that you will come back in two weeks.

CALLER: Okay.

CLINIC: You know what I mean? Then you will get a whole GYN exam — pap smear and everything, and then we supply you three months worth of birth control pills. Because you’re a patient here we supply you with that. We put you on a student scale fee which is not that much, and then you just keep coming and receive your pills.

CALLER: Okay. Well, what if my boyfriend’s not — like he’s paying for it, and he’s 22. He’s not a student anymore.

CLINIC: That’s fine. We still put you on a sliding scale fee. You know what I mean? So you just give us his info — we give you the paperwork. You put his income down. That’s it.

CALLER: Okay.

CLINIC: Okay? But if it’s easier for you to just keep it as a student fee, and that way he won’t be paying that much.

CALLER: Okay.

CLINIC: Okay?

CALLER: So even if he’s not a student you just say he is, or what?

CLINIC: No. You don’t say anything about him. Information, everything on the paper you put about yourself. But in the income bracket you just put his income.

CALLER: And you guys don’t have to tell anybody or anything?

CLINIC: We don’t tell nobody nothing. Only thing that’s on your paper, we need a guardian.

CALLER: Okay.

CLINIC: You’ll need — not him. Not your boyfriend. Your mother. The only way we will call your mother is if you got hit by a car outside or something, you know what I mean? But she don’t have to know you was here. You know what I’m saying?

CALLER: Okay.

CLINIC: We aren’t going to write letters to your house. We won’t call your house, nothing like that.

CALLER: Okay.

CLINIC: And if you couldn’t pay your whole balance we wouldn’t even bill you. We’d just run a balance so that the next time you come in to receive more pills, you pay on your balance from before and your current visit. That’s how we do it. You pay as you come or you pay as you can.

CALLER: Okay.

CLINIC: Okay? So did you want to set up an appointment?

CALLER: Well, I’d have to call him to see when he can get off. Is there any way I can call you back?

CLINIC: Okay, because we — actually can’t even put you in until the 22nd. So the longer you wait the longer the appointment is going to be.

CALLER: Okay.

CLINIC: Okay? So. We, actually tonight we close at 5:30, so that’s, if you can try to call before 5:30 so I can put you in for the 22nd.

CALLER: Okay. What was your name so I can —

CLINIC: My name is Wanda.

CALLER: Wanda?

CLINIC: Yep.

CALLER: All right.

CLINIC: Okay, hon?

CALLER: Thank you.

CLINIC: All right.

CALLER: Bye.

CLINIC: Bye bye.

(phone clicks)

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