Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, March 1, 1992 TAG: 9202280054
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: E-10 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: By BETH MACY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
He was 15 - and the first guy who'd ever paid attention to her.
"Up to that point, I'd been overweight and chubby, and my hair was awful," she says. "I got all hung up on him, I guess, because he was the first to really like me.
"In a way, I guess, I felt obligated to have sex . . . to thank him, kinda."
The sex wasn't great - nothing like in the movies, she says. But there was something that made her feel special.
She hitched a ride to Planned Parenthood's Roanoke office with a friend, who also lent her the $17 for her initial gynecological exam. She says she is one of the few young women in her junior class who uses protection at all - pills for pregnancy prevention and condoms for AIDS protection.
Sitting there in her jean jacket, a strand of pearls at her neck, Leah talks about sex in a matter-of-fact, almost blase, manner. As if there is no stigma among teen-agers about having unprotected sex at all. At least four of her friends at school already have babies, she says.
"Ten years ago, I guess it was like sex was supposed to be in the closet. Now it's no big deal because everybody does it.
"They do it whether they have birth control or not. And almost nobody thinks about AIDS; if anything, they're just worried about getting pregnant."
Girls her age like Planned Parenthood because they don't want their parents to find out about their sex lives; the cheaper fees make it more affordable, so they don't have to ask their parents for money, Leah says.
Guys like it because condoms at Planned Parenthood cost four for $1, she adds.
Ellen Poff, 31, has been coming to the Planned Parenthood office for two years. Married for four months, the Elliston woman recently was laid off from her job as a part-time processor for Tweeds.
Her sister talked her into having her first pap smear two years ago - because there's a history of ovarian cancer in their family. "I'm really shy about that kinda stuff, but it's all women working here, which made it a lot better."
Now Poff buys birth-control pills at Planned Parenthood for $8 a pack. (They cost $6 per pack for minors.)
"Without this, I'd go to a regular doctor for it, I guess," she says.
"Then again, I probably wouldn't go because I can't afford it right now."
Sally Howard, 39, has been going to Planned Parenthood for 12 years. A recent college graduate at the time, Howard was attracted by its affordable sliding-fee scale.
Now director of public relations for the YWCA, Howard still goes there for birth control and annual check-ups. "I've gone to private doctors before, but I like the nurse clinicians who do the exams at Planned Parenthood; I just feel better talking to them."
Last year, a clinician at Planned Parenthood discovered through a routine blood test that Howard had elevated blood-sugar levels, then referred her to a physician. Now she's monitored regularly for diabetes.
Cindy, a Roanoke sales representative, mentioned to a friend that she goes to Planned Parenthood for birth control and pelvic exams. "She said, `Why? You have a great job.' "
True, Cindy's income level plants the 25-year-old firmly in the middle class.
But because she has an ovarian cyst that needs monitored every three months, she still can't afford the services of a regular physician. Check-ups at a doctor's office cost her $70 per visit, she says; at Planned Parenthood, the cost to her is $30. She also donates money annually to the United Way as an extra to Planned Parenthood.
"If I had to go to a regular doctor, I know I'd let it slide. Here I can afford to get everything checked and not worry."
by CNB