A pro-life pamphlet told the following story:
Barbara Murray had to face extremely difficult situation at an early age. Barbara was pregnant and 14 and some of the adults in the community led Barbara to an abortion clinic 3 1/2 hours away. A last-minute phone call saved Barbara and her baby girl from a scheduled abortion. That phone call was with Barbara’s mother – the one person who knew nothing about her daughter’s pregnancy! Barbara’s experience magnifies the importance of parental consent in teen pregnancy abortion situations. Read why Barbara needed better advice than… “Bring your teddy bear to hold.”
It goes on to present an interview with Barbara. They asked about the counseling she received at the abortion clinic- or lack thereof.
Q.: did you have to go to the abortion clinic for any pre-abortion counseling?
A.: everything was done over the phone. They never talked about any type of counseling. They just said to come for the procedure. She told me what to bring. She said I would go through the procedure and there would be a snack afterwards. I would be sent to a recovery room and then I would go home.
Q.: did the abortion clinic personnel tell you about any abortion alternatives?
A: no. Nobody talked about it. It was like once the seed of abortion had taken root, it was nurtured to the point where they didn’t want to dare hurt it by saying anything to the contrary — which I found everybody doing.
Q.: how did the abortion clinic counselor prepare you for the abortion over the phone?
A.: the two things she stressed were to make sure I had the maxipads, the heavy kind, a bathrobe and slippers. The thing that sticks in my mind most of all he she asked me again how old I was and then she again asked me if my boyfriend was going to be with me during the procedure or was he coming afterwards. I said. ‘ I will probably go through the procedure by myself and my boyfriend will be there later. ‘ she again asked me how old I was. I said, ‘14.’ That’s when she said, “if you want to bring a teddy bear to hold onto during the procedure, you could also put that in your bed. “ She then said to bring along three separate bank checks for separate amounts.
Barbara’s mother ended up finding out about the abortion plans and was able to help her daughter and support her. Barbara gave birth to a healthy baby girl. She was asked:
Q.: should clinics be required to notify parents when miners come to obtain an abortion?
A.: parents not only need to be notified, the abortion clinics need to have their consent. I didn’t need a teddy bear. I needed an adult person, my mother, who could be with me. Here I was going to have the abortion because I thought I was going to be disowned or hurt by my mother I thought I had no choice. that’s where parents play a vital role.
Martha Scheiber “Bring Your Teddy Bear to Hold” East End publishing company 1990
