PLANNED PARENTHOOD – WOMEN’S HEALTH SERVICES
PITTSBURGH, PA 15222
412-562-1910

TAPE – 651

(Dialing, phone ringing 1x)

CLINIC: Good morning, Planned Parenthood, Women’s Health Services. This is Joyce. May I help you?

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

CLINIC: Yes, we do, on Tuesdays, Fridays and Saturdays.

CALLER: How much does that cost?

CLINIC: Well, it depends how far along you are. But what was the first day of your last normal period?

CALLER: January 3rd.

CLINIC: January 3rd??

CALLER: Uh-huh.

CLINIC: Okay. All right, let’s take a look here. And that’s when it started, correct?

CALLER: Right.

CLINIC: All right. Right now you are between eight and nine weeks. The fee up to 12 weeks is $365.

CALLER: Okay.

CLINIC: Are you covered by any insurance?

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

CLINIC: And how old are you?

CALLER: I’m going to be 14 on March 20th. Would you have to tell my parents?

CLINIC: Yes, you do. You have to.

CALLER: My boyfriend’s 22. Could he just sign whatever it is?

CLINIC: It has nothing to do with your boyfriend and how old he is. It has to do with you and the state law. The state law requires that you come with a mother or father. And they have to prove that they’re your mother or father. So you need to talk to a parent.

CALLER: But I can’t talk to them. I mean, they can’t find out at all.

CLINIC: Okay. Then we would have to go through a judicial bypass.

CALLER: What is that?

CLINIC: You would have to come in for a visit prior to the abortion. That would be 120 at that visit, and that would be applied to your abortion. You would talk to one of our counselors who would give you all the information about going to court. You would have to go to court to receive a bypass from the judge there.

CALLER: Well, do I need a lawyer?

CLINIC: No. No, you don’t.

CALLER: How much does it cost for the bypass thing?

CLINIC: As I said, it’s $120, but that would be applied to your abortion fee.

CALLER: Oh, all right.

CLINIC: And the next day we could see you would be on Friday or Saturday.

CALLER: Well, does the judge ever say no?

CLINIC: I don’t know. I don’t know if they have in Allegheny County or not. I don’t believe so.

CALLER: Oh, really?

CLINIC: But they will ask you some questions, and of course why you want to do this, and why you have not been able to talk to a parent about it.

CALLER: Well, they just don’t ever listen to me. I mean, they never understand anything.

CLINIC: Well, I would be very upset if my 14-year-old were pregnant to a 22-year-old. So I can understand them being upset about it. But then after the upset being over, do you think they would come around and be reasonable after they screamed at you for a while?

CALLER: I don’t know. I don’t think so. I mean, they’d be furious. They know my boyfriend, and they know we’re going out, but they have no idea we’re having sex. I mean, if they found out about that, I don’t know what would happen let alone being pregnant.

CLINIC: I’m not sure why they’re allowing a 14-year-old to date a 22-year-old. Hold on a second.

CALLER: Okay.

(Pause)

CLINIC: But by any token we could bring you in on either Friday or Saturday. Do you know which day you’d like to come in?

CALLER: Well, I don’t know. I have to call my boyfriend. He’d be the only way I could get there.

CLINIC: Right, exactly. Well, call and talk to him and see what he has to say. That appointment would definitely be in the morning. Okay?

CALLER: But you wouldn’t have to tell anybody about my boyfriend though?

CLINIC: Would we tell anyone?

CALLER: Right.

CLINIC: No.

CALLER: Oh, okay.

CLINIC: No.

CALLER: So it’s all right if he’s there with me?

CLINIC: Yes. Now, he can’t come back into the clinic, but he can be at the clinic at the outer waiting room waiting for you.

CALLER: Oh, okay. Well, if it turned out that I wasn’t pregnant, could I get birth control there?

CLINIC: We would be sending you to our parent company Planned Parenthood on Ninth Street. You have not had a positive pregnancy test then?

CALLER: No.

CLINIC: Okay. Well, then we couldn’t schedule anything anyway. You have to have done that first.

CALLER: Oh, all right.

CLINIC: You have to have had a positive pregnancy test for us to schedule you with anything.

CALLER: But do you guys do that there?

CLINIC: I’m sorry? Yes. You can come in, but that would be something separate. You can come in tomorrow with your first morning urine, and we could run a pregnancy test on it.

CALLER: What time?

CLINIC: Between 9 and 2.

CALLER: Oh, okay. So if I had any other questions, could I call you? What was your name?

CLINIC: My name’s Joyce. You can talk to anyone though because I may not be in here whenever you call back, okay?

CALLER: Okay.

CLINIC: So you can talk to anyone about more information. But the first thing you have to do is to have a pregnancy test done.

CALLER: Okay.

CLINIC: Okay?

CALLER: All right. You wouldn’t have to tell anybody about a pregnancy test?

CLINIC: No, no. Everything is very confidential.

CALLER: All right. Thank you.

CLINIC: Okay, hon. Bye bye.

CALLER: Bye.

***END***

ALLEGHENY REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH CENTER
200 NORTH HIGHLAND FL 2
PITTSBURGH, PA 15206
412-661-8811

TAPE – 656

(Dialing, phone ringing 1x)

CLINIC: Allegheny Reproductive. Can I help you?

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

CLINIC: Yes, we do.

CALLER: How much does that cost?

CLINIC: When was the first day of the last normal period that you had?

CALLER: January 3rd.

CLINIC: Do you have any kind of medical coverage?

CALLER: No. But my boyfriend said that he would pay for everything.

CLINIC: To be awake with a local anesthetic, $375. We have something called alternative pain management, where in addition to the local anesthetic you can have a valium and we show you some relaxation techniques. That would be $400. And to have a IV sedation which is a twilight sleep, that would be $440.

CALLER: Okay. The thing is, I’m going to be 14 on the 20th, 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: We don’t have to tell your parents, but you have to go before a judge.

CALLER: Oh, okay.

CLINIC: So because you’re not able to tell your parents, you have to go before a judge.

CALLER: Well, how much does that cost?

CLINIC: It’s all within the same cost that I told you.

CALLER: Oh, okay. Does the judge ever say no?

CLINIC: No, the judge says yes.

CALLER: Oh, okay. I could come in for a pregnancy test, and you wouldn’t have to tell anybody either?

CLINIC: Yeah. You can run a pregnancy test at home.

CALLER: Oh, okay.

CLINIC: Have you not run a pregnancy test yet?

CALLER: No. I just haven’t had my period for a while, and I’m just scared.

CLINIC: Yeah. Yeah. Do you get periods every month?

CALLER: Usually.

CLINIC: Okay. Yeah, you can go to the store and buy one of those EPT pregnancy tests.

CALLER: Are those usually right though?

CLINIC: Yes, they are.

CALLER: But do you guys do those there?

CLINIC: Well, we will do one, but we want you to have done one. Because it doesn’t make any sense to come all the way here and have to worry about getting all this money together and this and that without even being pregnant. So that’s why we want you to at least run the test, and then you know that you’re are. Because there’s a chance that you’re not if you haven’t run a test.

CALLER: Okay. Well, if it turned out that I was pregnant, would my boyfriend be able to bring me here?

CLINIC: Yes.

CALLER: It’s just we were talking about all this, and we don’t want anybody to know about us. So would you have to tell anybody if he was here?

CLINIC: No.

CALLER: Oh, okay.

CLINIC: No, we don’t have to tell anybody anything.

CALLER: Well, if it turned out that I wasn’t pregnant, could I come there and get birth control?

CLINIC: Yeah. Where do you live though?

CALLER: I live in Bethel Park.

CLINIC: Okay. Yeah, you could come here.

CALLER: Really?

CLINIC: Um-hmm.

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

CLINIC: Nope.

CALLER: Oh, okay. So just go and take a pregnancy test, and then call you back? What was your name?

CLINIC: My name is Ronnie.

CALLER: Okay.

CLINIC: What’s your first name?

CALLER: Lisa.

CLINIC: Lisa.

CALLER: Yeah.

CLINIC: Okay, Lisa.

CALLER: Thanks.

CLINIC: Bye bye.

CALLER: Bye.

***END***

ALLEGHENY WOMEN’S CENTER
121 NORTH HIGHLAND
PITTSBURGH, PA 15206
412-362-2920

TAPE – 657

(Dialing, phone ringing 3x)

CLINIC: Allegheny Women’s Center. How may I direct your call?

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

CLINIC: Yes.

CALLER: Well, I just had some questions and just wanting to talk to somebody.

CLINIC: Okay. I’m going to transfer you to that line. And if at anytime you choose to make an appointment, you can just press zero to get back to me.

CALLER: Okay.

(Short pause)

RECORDING: Hi. My name’s Theresa, and I’m one of the counselors here at Allegheny Women’s Center. If you’re listening to this message, you or someone you care about is considering abortion. I’m sure you’re probably scared, disappointed in yourself or your birth control, and you’re just plain confused. Hopefully, I’ll be able to ease your fears by answering a lot of your questions before you even have a chance to ask them.

First of all, first trimester legal abortion is one of the safest procedures performed in America. Nothing that’s done during a routine abortion affects future pregnancies in any way. Our doctors are board certified professionals who give up their time and actually put their lives at risk to come here and help. I know I personally am involved at Allegheny Women’s Center because I want to help people not hurt them. We want to give every woman the opportunity to take the life’s path that’s best for them.

We perform two types of abortion procedures here at Allegheny Women’s Center, the surgical and the non-surgical. The non-surgical is called the “early option pill.” It can be effectively taken up to eight weeks in pregnancy. We use a combination of medications which causes spontaneous abortion. It involves two visits to the office and side effects include headache, nausea diarrhea and bleeding and cramping. No long-term side effects are associated with this medication. The cost is $400.

We also offer the surgical procedure. The method that we use is called a vacuum aspiration. It takes approximately five minutes. You’ll probably feel some cramping, tugging, pulling kind of feelings during the procedure. We do offer some anesthesia choices if you’re interested. The cost of the procedure depends on how far along you are in the pregnancy. If you’re between 7 and 12 weeks it’s $360 to stay awake with a local anesthetic. If you think you can be still, being awake is fine. If you don’t think that you can be still, you should consider the twilight anesthesia. It’s $40 extra, and it’s a medication that’s given to you in injection form which will help to relax you. If you don’t want to be aware of anything or feel anything during the procedure, you should be asleep for the procedure. That’s an extra $110.

If you are under seven weeks, the cost of the procedure is $25 more, and once you hit 12 weeks, the price increases $100 a week. The furthest that we can go in the pregnancy at this time is 16 weeks. You can talk with your appointment counselor for more information about our appointments and prices. But before you go I just wanted to let you know that in my opinion abortion is nothing to be ashamed of. It takes a brave person to admit that they made a mistake and to take the necessary steps to correct it. Almost half of the women in America have had an abortion, so believe me, you’re not alone. And all of us at Allegheny Women’s Center are here to help you if you need us.

If you’re calling during office hours all you have to do is press zero, and you’ll be transferred to an appointment counselor. If it’s after hours, if you press zero you’ll get transferred to our voicemail, and you can leave us a message if you’d like. Our offices are usually open Monday through Friday 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturday 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Thank you for your time, and I hope I was able to help you. Thank you (dial button pressed).

(Message repeated; dial button pressed).

(Phone ringing 1x)

CLINIC: Hello. Allegheny Women’s Center. How may I direct your call?

CALLER: Hi. Yeah. I was just listening to the thing about abortion, but I just have questions still. Could I ask you?

CLINIC: Yes.

CALLER: My main question is, I’m going to be 14 on the 20th, and my friend told me 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: No, you can’t. Nope. You have to do what we call a judicial bypass.

CALLER: What is that?

CLINIC: You have to get these papers. You’ll make an appointment, you’ll come in, you’ll get some papers. The day of your appointment they’ll give you an exam, and then they’ll give you instructions on how to go about doing a judicial bypass. And that will get permission without parental consent.

CALLER: Okay. Well, how much does that cost?

CLINIC: Nothing.

CALLER: Nothing?

CLINIC: No, that’s what you have to do since you’re a minor; if you don’t want your parents involved.

CALLER: Does the judge say no or anything?

CLINIC: No. You have to go before him so that you can do that without your parents’ consent.

CALLER: Okay. Well, my friend said that you would have to tell about my boyfriend though.

CLINIC: Huh?

CALLER: My friend told me you would have to tell about my boyfriend because he’s 22.

CLINIC: Have to do what to your boyfriend?

CALLER: She said that you guys would have to tell about him.

CLINIC: When you come the director will explain that to you. We don’t tell anything. You tell about him.

CALLER: Oh, okay.

CLINIC: We don’t know about him, you know what I mean? You have to tell about him.

CALLER: Okay. But do you guys do pregnancy tests there?

CLINIC: Uh-huh, and they’re a dollar.

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

CLINIC: No, hon. We don’t tell any information.

CALLER: Oh, okay.

CLINIC: No matter how old you are, we’re not allowed to give any information.

CALLER: Well, if it ended up that I wasn’t pregnant, do you guys have birth control there too?

CLINIC: Yes, we do. And we also have the Depo.

CALLER: How much does that cost?

CLINIC: A gyn/pap exam, it would be $60. So that’s just for the exam and birth control. That’s for birth control pills. It will be 60 with the exam — 40/60 for the pills, okay? Then they give you an exam. You get six months worth of pills. You get two free here and four on a prescription. And then if you like the Depo it’s 90 because it’s 50 for the Depo.

CALLER: Oh, okay.

CLINIC: Did you want to make an appointment?

CALLER: Well, I have to tell my boyfriend to know. But would anybody have to know if I was on birth control though?

CLINIC: None of your information is allowed to be given.

CALLER: Oh, okay. Let me call my boyfriend and see, and I’ll call you back. What was your name?

CLINIC: My name is Denita (ph).

CALLER: Okay. All right. So let me call him and call you back.

CLINIC: Okay.

CALLER: All right. Thanks.

CLINIC: Okay. Bye bye.

***END***

PLANNED PARENTHOOD – WOMEN’S HEALTH SERVICES
209 9TH ST # 400
PITTSBURGH, PA 15222-3509
412-434-8971

TAPE – 145

(dialing sounds) (ringing 1X)

CLINIC: Planned Parenthood Women’s Health Services. How can I help you?

CALLER: Hi. Yeah. I was actually told to call you guys from the Richville (Bridgeville?) Planned Parenthood. Nancy told me to call you guys.

CLINIC: Are you trying to make an appointment for a termination?

CALLER: Yeah.

CLINIC: Well, now, they might be kind of busy in there, so if you’ll kindly hold someone will get with you.

CALLER: All right.

CLINIC: If you feel that you’re holding too long, please call back.

CALLER: Okay.

CLINIC: Okay? One moment.

(pause)

RECORDING: Thank you for calling Women’s Health Services. We are sorry to delay your call. Please remain on the line and a counselor will assist you as soon as possible. Thank you. (pause) (ringing 1X)

CLINIC: Good afternoon. Planned Parenthood Women’s Health Services. This is Joyce. May I help you?

CALLER: Hi. Yeah. Well, I was wondering — like — well I was just talking to the Planned Parenthood in Bridgeville, and Nancy told me to call you guys, so.

CLINIC: Okay. Concerning?

CALLER: Well, I was wanting to — I was wondering about having an abortion, so.

CLINIC: Okay. Well, I can give you some information. We see patients on Tuesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays.

CALLER: Okay.

CLINIC: The fee is dependent on how far along you are in the pregnancy, but if you’re between 6 to 12 weeks the fee would be $365.

CALLER: Okay.

CLINIC: Are you covered by any insurance?

CALLER: Well, no. My boyfriend said he would pay for it. He’s got a job. He’s 22, so.

CLINIC: Okay, and how old are you?

CALLER: I’ll be 13 — or 14 in March.

CLINIC: I’m sorry? How old?

CALLER: I’ll be 14 in March.

CLINIC: 14? Okay. Have you talked to a parent about this? Because in Pennsylvania there is parental consent.

CALLER: I can’t tell my parents at all because they — but like Nancy said you guys don’t have to tell anybody.

CLINIC: No, that’s not true. You’ll have to go through the court system, and that is —

CALLER: What?

CLINIC: Yes, you would — we would have to take you through judicial bypass.

CALLER: What’s that?

CLINIC: Well, we would bring you in for a counseling visit.

CALLER: Yeah.

CLINIC: Okay? And that would be $120. And then we would set up — one of our counselors would set up a day and time for you to go to court in Allegheny County in the Allegheny County courthouse to go before a judge and petition them and tell them. They’ll ask why you can’t go to a parent. It’s always much easier if you can go to a parent than this.

CALLER: Okay. But I can’t.

CLINIC: Okay. Why can’t you?

CALLER: Well, if they found out that me and my boyfriend were having sex they would totally freak out. Like we’re in love and we’re going to get married, but they don’t like him at all.

CLINIC: No parent is going to be happy about a teenager having intercourse with someone in their 20s. I wouldn’t be happy either. But then after that, they realize, you know, that they have to come to some kind of conclusion, and you’re much too young to have a child at this point. You don’t think that they would throw you out? What do you think they would do?

CALLER: I don’t know. I just don’t want to find out.

CLINIC: Okay. Well, then you’re going to have to go through judicial bypass.

CALLER: Okay. Do I need a lawyer for that or anything?

CLINIC: No. The court’s having a hard time finding lawyers, but you know, it may be delayed, the whole procedure, but we would try to find one through the court system. But you have to come in for an initial visit to, you know, to see how far along you are, get the counseling done, and then we would go from there.

CALLER: How much does that all cost?

CLINIC: Depends how far along you are — between 6 to 12 weeks it’s $365. To your first visit you would be paying $120, and that would be taken off of your abortion visit.

CALLER: Well, how much does like a lawyer cost?

CLINIC: No, hon. I just told you. We provide the lawyer. The court system provides the lawyer. Sometimes it’s difficult finding a day. You may have to come to Pittsburgh three times rather than just two times. I don’t know where you live, but that’s what judicial bypass is going to involve.

CALLER: Okay. Well, I’m just scared because like, well, my last period was like the first week in December.

CLINIC: So it was December 1?

CALLER: Well, it was a little after that, but.

CLINIC: So what was the first day of your last normal period?

CALLER: Well, I’m not real sure. It was like — probably like maybe the third or something.

CLINIC: The third?

CALLER: Yeah, I guess.

CLINIC: Okay. All right. That means that right now you are between 10 and 11 weeks.

CALLER: Okay.

CLINIC: Our next available appointment for this type of appointment for the counseling would not be until next Tuesday.

CALLER: Okay.

CLINIC: We have appointments open, and that would be the 19th. Is your boyfriend going to have to be the one to bring you?

CALLER: Yeah.

CLINIC: Okay. Is he there with you?

CALLER: No, not right now. He’s at work right now.

CLINIC: Why don’t you ask him if it would be okay to come in on Tuesday the 19th and then give us a call back for the appointment?

CALLER: Okay. Does he have to see the judge to do that?

CLINIC: No. We have nothing to do with the boyfriend.

CALLER: Oh.

CLINIC: And neither will the judge. You’re going to be the one to go before the judge to tell them why you cannot go to a parent about terminating a pregnancy.

CALLER: Okay. What would I tell the judge?

CLINIC: I don’t know. It’s up to you.

CALLER: Like — I don’t know.

CLINIC: I have no idea what you tell the judge.

CALLER: How would I get there if my boyfriend didn’t take me?

CLINIC: You’d have to go by bus or find another way.

CALLER: Oh, okay.

CLINIC: Okay? Where do you live?

CALLER: I live in Elizabeth.

CLINIC: Okay. Well, you know, buses run from there.

CALLER: Okay.

CLINIC: Into downtown Pittsburgh, so talk to your boyfriend and see if you can come in, if he can bring you in on Tuesday, okay?

CALLER: And you guys wouldn’t have to tell anybody about going in there to where you’re at?

CLINIC: We won’t have to tell anybody about what?

CALLER: About going to see you guys?

CLINIC: No. Not with judicial bypass.

CALLER: Well, like to get the pregnancy test.

CLINIC: You said you’ve had a pregnancy test.

CALLER: Well, it was a home test.

CLINIC: We will do a pregnancy test when you come in here. Hold on.

CALLER: Okay.

CLINIC: Okay, and it did come up positive, correct?

CALLER: Yeah.

CLINIC: Okay. Well, talk to your boyfriend and see if it’s okay to come in on Tuesday. You’ll need $120 that day and then the rest of the fee when you come back for the procedure. The counselor who will be seeing you on Tuesday will make the arrangements for the judicial bypass.

CALLER: Okay. Do you know if the pregnancy that I did could be wrong or anything? Is it possible that I’m not pregnant?

CLINIC: I don’t know.

CALLER: Oh, okay.

CLINIC: There’s no way of knowing, and you know, until we do a pregnancy test. I can’t tell you that over the phone.

CALLER: Oh. Well, if I wasn’t pregnant do you guys do birth control there?

CLINIC: Um-hum. We would be sending you to our parent company which is Planned Parenthood on 9th Street.

CALLER: Okay. But they wouldn’t have to tell anybody?

CLINIC: No, not for birth control, never.

CALLER: Okay.

CLINIC: Okay? So talk to him about that appointment on Tuesday, okay?

CALLER: Okay. If he has any questions could I call you back and ask you?

CLINIC: Sure.

CALLER: What was your name?

CLINIC: My name’s Joyce.

CALLER: Okay.

CLINIC: Okay?

CALLER: Thanks.

CLINIC: You’re welcome, hon. Bye.

CALLER: Bye.

(phone clicks)

*** THE END ***