THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1997, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, February 18, 1997 TAG: 9702180304
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY MARIE JOYCE, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: 111 lines
A teen-ager seeking an abortion at Norfolk's Hillcrest Clinic doesn't have to give her real name. Some young women need this guarantee to feel secure that no one will know they had an abortion, a clinic spokesperson says.
Hillcrest operators fear they won't be able to offer that assurance if the General Assembly passes a law requiring parental notification before a teen-ager can get an abortion.
Spokespeople from Hillcrest and Tidewater Women's Health Clinic, South Hampton Roads' other abortion clinic, say they probably would have to press young women to prove their age and identity. This pressure might discourage some girls from even calling, said Suzette Caton from Hillcrest, located in the 1600 block of E. Little Creek Road in Norfolk.
The Tidewater Women's Health Clinic spokeswoman declined to give her name, citing a company policy to protect workers' safety. The clinic also is in Norfolk, in the 800 block of Norfolk Square.
Advocates of the law say that parents belong in the process.
``Parents are responsible for their children,'' said Chesapeake Sen. Mark L. Earley, the bill's sponsor. ``Minors need guidance in making the decision.''
The bill, which has been passed by the Senate and is supposed to come up for a final House vote Wednesday, would require a doctor to obtain proof that a teen-ager's parents or guardian have been notified before performing an abortion. The law would apply to most people under age 18.
That proof may be in the form of a written statement signed by the parent or guardian. If the teen-ager doesn't offer some type of proof, the doctor is required to notify the parents. The law would include some exceptions for medical emergencies and allow the girl to get permission from a judge to bypass her parents.
Currently, the Hillcrest and Tidewater clinics ask women for information typically collected before a medical procedure, such as name, age, medical history, and a person to call in case of emergency. Some women provide health insurance documentation for reimbursement. Some pay out of pocket.
Hillcrest workers don't push women to identify themselves. If the staff at the Tidewater clinic suspect that a woman is lying about her identity, they remind her that they want accurate information.
However, neither clinic asks for proof of identification. Tidewater's spokesperson says there is no need to.
If the law passes, Hillcrest and other providers likely would have to verify whether young women who show up at the clinics are minors. To do that, operators say, they likely would have to demand some identification.
``How are you to know if someone is 16 or someone is 19 if you're not asking for ID?'' asked Caton.
Beyond that, she said, clinic workers aren't sure, based on their reading of the law, how far they would have to go to verify that the identification is correct.
In 1994, 401 Hampton Roads residents under age 18 had abortions, according to state statistics. The statistics don't say how many of those young women had the procedure done in Hampton Roads, or how many procedures were done for medical reasons.
At Hillcrest, about 19 percent of the abortion patients are age 14 to 19. Less than one percent are under age 14, said Caton. Hillcrest and Tidewater declined to say how many abortions are performed at the clinics, saying the numbers are used against them by abortion opponents.
Currently, a young woman entering into Hillcrest Clinic must provide the name of someone to contact in case something goes wrong. The contact person doesn't have to be a parent or guardian. It could be a friend. Caton said the vast majority of the women bring someone to the clinic with them.
The fact that a teen-ager might put down another teen-ager as a contact is part of what bothers Earley about the current law.
Suppose there are complications, he asks. Parents shouldn't find out hours after the fact. And he questions whether a teen-ager can be counted on to give a good medical history.
Most teen-agers do bring a parent, usually their mothers, said Caton. But roughly a quarter of them don't, she said. Those who don't have a variety of reasons. Many say that they are afraid they will be kicked out of the house if their parents learn about the pregnancies. Others say they are afraid of disappointing their parents.
She noted that while state law generally requires that parents be involved in teen-agers' medical decisions, it does make some exceptions. For example, she said, a minor can get anonymous testing and treatment for sexually transmitted disease, since forced disclosure might prevent him or her from getting treatment at all.
In the case of abortion, she said, a teen might try a self-induced abortion or go to someone who is not reputable, rather than tell her parents.
Earley says abortion is different from something like AIDS testing because abortion is an invasive procedure.
The parental notification law would affect more than clinics. Hospitals do abortions in some cases. Sentara Health System, which owns Sentara Norfolk General and several other local hospitals, already has a sort of notification in place.
``We would never do a surgical procedure without a parent's permission, anyway,'' except in emergencies, said Sandra J. Miller, director of community relations for Sentara Health System. Sentara doesn't do abortions on demand, only in cases where the mother or fetus has a medical problem, she said.
Dr. R. Nathan Slotnick, an obstetrician who handles high-risk pregnancies, sometimes performs abortions in cases of genetic defect. He doesn't anticipate any problem informing parents, because he has never had a teen-ager come through his clinic without a parent or guardian.
The types of cases he handles are so difficult that patients never come in alone, he said. In the five years he's practiced in Hampton Roads, he said, ``It's never come up.''
Caton said many parents don't realize that the clinic doesn't need permission to do an abortion. Often, parents think they must make the appointment.
But clinic workers don't want parents to make appointments, because they fear parents may coerce their daughters to have it done. If a parent calls, clinic workers ask to talk to the pregnant teen-ager.
When the girl comes for the procedure, she goes through several counseling sessions. If she doesn't want the abortion, the clinic won't do the procedure, whatever the parents' wishes.
KEYWORDS: ABORTION