Editor’s note: This is part of an ongoing series investigating the lies, cover-ups, and abuses inside Planned Parenthood, America’s largest abortion chain.
“We don’t have doctors for pregnant women.”
When Addison told of her story of being pregnant and seeking prenatal care from Planned Parenthood, it may have seemed an isolated incident, but it was not, says former Planned Parenthood medical assistant, Brooke, who was interviewed by Live Action News.
Brooke’s career started at Planned Parenthood just a few years ago and lasted two and a half years at the abortion chain’s location in Santa Ana, California. Her professional experience parallels Addison’s patient experience at a Planned Parenthood halfway across the nation.
Brooke explains that the Santa Ana office was what is known as an “MAB clinic.” These facilities do medical abortions only. “TAB clinics” do surgical abortions, (ironically called “therapeutic abortions.”) Brooke explains that even as a MAB only facility, the focus was always on abortion or upselling STD tests to make extra money. They did speak to pregnant women, however—to tell them where to get prenatal vitamins.
As a medical assistant, Brooke saw all aspects of the abortion center’s function, which, she notes, was heavily focused on abortion despite the facility not being a TAB facility. She explains her work as a clinical assistant:
I was grandfathered into a “medical assistant” role. That means I never went to any sort of medical training before working there. I learned all about patient care, collecting specimens, drawing blood and such, on the job. I worked in Santa Ana California. They had [high] teen pregnancy rates. I drew blood for HIV, Hepatitis B and syphilis tests. I had to collect urine samples to test for urinary tract infections, gonorrhea, chlamydia, and pregnancy. It was our responsibility to explain any and all side effects of various birth control methods and abortion protocol. It was our responsibility to give pregnancy test results, go over patients’ “choices.”
And the choices they went over were how Brooke quickly discovered there was no care of pregnant women happening. They did present the options of continuing pregnancy, adoption and abortion, she says — all within 15 minutes.
I thought I was “helping” people too but I was reprimanded if I counseled a patient too long. I would give someone the results of their [positive] pregnancy test and then was required to go over their “choices” and let them decide within 15 minutes. It was totally a numbers game. We were given incentives if we reached our goals for the number of patients we could get in and out in a day.
I was trained to be fast. Women typically came to planned parenthood already knowing they wanted an abortion. I always offered “termination” last so they could hear the other options.
What they advised patients, Brooke says, varied greatly with the options. Abortion got all the attention; in all her time at Planned Parenthood, she only saw one woman choose to place her child for adoption.
And if a woman wanted to continue her pregnancy? Brooke says “[We would tell her] ‘Great, go pick up some prenatal vitamins over-the-counter. And here is WIC’s [Women, Infants and Children Program] phone number.’”
That was it. Brooke tried to give them as much information as possible. She says:
I, personally, would always go over all options with the pregnant mother. I would ask… Did you want to continue your pregnancy? Adoption? Or terminate? If they wanted to continue their pregnancy I would start with what outside programs that were available, but I had no fliers to give. I didn’t have handouts available for WIC but I verbally told them about WIC. I told them they would get vouchers/checks for veggies and fruits until the child was five years old. I would verbally tell them to get prenatal vitamins over-the-counter at any grocery store. I recommended that they start prenatal care ASAP.
But none of these options got much time because, “We were always pressured on our time. My friend and I were always getting in trouble for spending too much time educating the patients on how to take their birth control, or listening and answering questions.”
But that was a few years ago. Does Planned Parenthood still treat women this way? In light of last year’s videos exposing their true motives, counteracted by the spin that they offer ‘women’s health care,’ pro-lifer Jenny wondered if the Santa Ana office might help her find prenatal care for her newly-discovered pregnancy.
Planned Parenthood Orange San Bernardino patient services screen shot
Last week, Jenny says she tried to schedule an appointment for a prenatal visit with the Planned Parenthood online system, but it said she had to call for that type of appointment. She called and explained that she was looking for prenatal care and wanted an appointment at the Santa Ana clinic. The scheduler, John, was friendly, Jenny said, but he explained that this appointment, a “prenatal assessment,” would have to occur at the Costa Mesa center because that is the only one that does prenatal care.
She expressed interest in obtaining an appointment anyway and waited while he checked for the earliest available appointment; Jenny was offered a date more than two weeks away.
Meanwhile, Jenny says that John told her the appointment would start her with prenatal vitamins and some blood work, but that there would be no vaginal exam or ultrasound. Jenny also says she was told that she would get help applying for Medi-Cal, but that she would then be referred to an OB/GYN for regular check-ups.
How this falls under offering “prenatal care” is a bit of a mystery since Planned Parenthood’s plan is to “refer her out” to an actual provider of prenatal care. But this isn’t surprising to Brooke, who saw a lack of regard for women wanting to continue their pregnancies and more of a concern with making money.
Planned Parenthood of Orange and San Bernardino County’s latest annual report showing prenatal care of only .9% of all services
Brooke explains that even the medications her facility had on hand were proof of Planned Parenthood’s lack of care for pregnant women. She says that “All meds for gonorrhea chlamydia, syphilis HPV, MAB’s, Morning after pill, various birth control methods, and UTI antibiotics were kept on-site. But prenatal vitamins [were not].
She also notes that:
The Santa Ana clinic had two ultrasound machines but were only ever used for determining the gestation of the baby. The sound was off so parents could not hear the heart beat. The monitors were turned out of patients’ sight so that they could hide the life inside them from the terminating parent. Basically, we hid the life they were about to end from them to eliminate any guilt or pressure for what they were about to start.
But when it came to parents who were continuing their pregnancy we only offered urine pregnancy tests. No ultrasounds.
She adds the ironic twist of the ultrasound practices when she worked there:
We would even print the ultrasound photos of the MAB or TAB and place it in the chart. We did not offer that to patients who were continuing pregnancy.
Brooke emphasizes, “We offered no parenting classes or even knew where to send someone who wanted that. At the time I was there, Planned Parenthood, we had no resources to give to continuing parents.”
She says, “The fact that we only get 15 minutes with the mothers who are making major life decisions at various ages ranging from teens to mature adults is just pretty disappointing.” She adds:
If they really cared about women they would have more prenatal clinics with WIC-type programs.
If they cared about “choices” they would offer adoption services, which proves that they are only there to fulfill the “need” for abortion vs. life. It proves they are not at all about “Choice” but that they only offer 1 option and send you off if you choose other ones.
They just do prevention and termination. What choice is that really?
Apparently none at all, since nationwide, Planned Parenthood’s actual prenatal care numbers are at rock bottom.
The latest annual report for the national abortion chain shows that of almost 10 million total services reported, just 17,419 were prenatal care.
That says a lot about the organization’s slogan, which should perhaps be modified to include a parenthetical addendum: Care. No matter what (unless you want to continue your pregnancy).
Previous articles in the Inside Planned Parenthood Series:
- Inside Planned Parenthood: Covering up child sexual abuse
- Planned Parenthood workers: We lied to women about the development of their babies
- Planned Parenthood abortionist: The more abortions we did, the more money we made
- Former Planned Parenthood workers: We coerced women into getting abortions
