Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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The'Ab Local Clit By Alice Parsons, Debbie Griffin and Phyllis Purcell Two years ago in Richland County, a young girl sought and received an illegal abortion. Complications developed and she returned to the abortionists for help. To warn her- against going to the authorities, the girl was severely beaten. To help ease the pain and prevent her from seeking legitimate, medical help, she was given heroin in jections three times a day. Her face was swollen twice its normal size. The problem came to the attention of her high school teacher. After hearing her story, the teacher contacted a con cerned group in Columbia to assist her. Now there is a clinic in Columbia that regularly per forms legal abortions on an inexpensive outpatient basis. Teenage girls in trouble, middle aged housewives with unwanted pregnancies, university students and economically handicapped. young mothers come to Southern Women Services for help. The clinic, located on Two Notch Road, offers abortions by the vacuum aspirator method performed by Dr. Kenneth G. Lawrence, a gynecologist from Florence who has practiced for 25 years. Due to legal stipulations, the abortions can only be per formed on women in their first three months of pregnancy . Southern Women Services was founded by Linda Drilling who has been invloved in abortion services in New York since legalization of abortions there four years ago. The staff has helped 1700 women obtain abortions at Southern Women Services since operations began in August, 1973. A $175' fee in cludes the abortion, physician's fees, laboratory work, cbun seling, and a follow-up ap pointment and examination. At the clinic, one will be asked to fill out medical records and if her pregnancy test is positive, she will be counseled 'along with four other women about her reasons for obtaining an abor tion. The counselor is trained to recognize signs that a woman is reacting too strongly to the ex perience. Since this could cause serious emotional damge, she is encouraged to consider other solutions to her pregnancy. If abor tion is ruled out and adoption is chosen, a state agency is in Columbia. Located on Bull Street, the S.C. Children's Bureau places babies in homes throughout the state. If a woman agrees to an abortion, the counselor will ex plain exactly what the operation entails. The woman is given a mild tranquilizer, a surgical gown, and is taken to the procedure rooms resembling examining areas. The gynecologist performs a pelvic examination to make sure that the woman is no more than three months nregnant. A rugn ortion S ic Offers Outpatei similar to novacaine is injected into the cervix and a series of different size dilators open the entrance of the uterus to allow passage of the instruments. The contents of-the uterus are drained via suction aspirator and the uterine wall is gently scraped for one minute. Then the physician performs another pelvic examination to make sure that the uterus has begun returning to its normal size. The woman is then taken to the recovery room following the abortion. Her temperature and blood pressure are checked and she is urged to rest while under the supervision of a registered nurse. The woman is counseled again before she leaves the clinic on methods of contraception and their effectiveness. She is given antibiotics and a medication to return the uterus to its normal size. Post operative instructions include no intercourse for two weeks, no alcohol or marijuana for three days, and another pelvic examination after two weeks. Women who seek abortions at Southern Women Services range in ages from 13 to 53. The ratio of black women to white is the same "...One woman was astounded said she had drunk her contr with her coffee," according to C tory In Gt Services as the South Carolina population ratio: 30 per cent black and 70 per cent white. Sixty-five per cent of them were single and seventy percent were using no form of contraception when they became pregnant. Gary Sheehan, clinic coor dinator at Southern Women Servicessaid the staff stresses birth control education. "Some of the women who come in here for abortions tell me that they don't need contraceptives because they will never have sexual relations again, at least any time soon. We see some of them come back for another abortion, too." he said. "One married woman was astounded to learn that she was preganant. She said she had drunk her contraceptive foam every morning with her coffee. Another woman with two children believed that women conceived through kissing. She said, 'But I did not kiss that man'!" "To stop abortions from being performed is not to make them illegal, but to make them no longer necessary." said Sheehan. "Contraceptives should be made o learn she was pregnant. She aceptive foam every morning ary Sheehan (pictured below). is~ 1: ohumbiu o i 401~ This is the room where it all recognizable to most women I gynecologist's office. But some v such things... available to all people. Children seem to mature more quickly than they used to and their parents should discuss con traception with them. Mothers often feel that they have failed a daughter who becomes ~ pregnant, that they have brought her up wrong. But the daughter must be treated as a moremature person who will make her own decisions whether to have sexual relations or not." Responses from patients in- I terviewed several weeks after an abortion at Southern Women Services were postive. One 20 i year-old woman said, "When I < came to the clinic I was scared I and hesitant. After the ' first counseling session, my fears t were relieved. Gary is an ex cellent counselor. Everyone with I whom I was in contact was s reassuring. The group approach r helped relieve tension. The staff t was kind and cheerful. They a didn't criticize my mistake but t helped me get through it." e C An 18-year old woman said. "The clinic was decorative which t helped to relieve tension. The doctor and the staff gave each i patient personal attention. The r whole procedure was less painful I than I thought it would be." "It was something I felt I had to do because I know I could not E give a child what one deserves, c therefore it was justified in my c mind. The clinic itself was of high quality. The operation was j relatively painless and everyone S was understanding," was the ( response of a 23-year old woman. t C On the contrary, the Columbia a Medical Society as a whole does ti not support the clinic. According s the the Society's Abortion a Committee report, "The chief t: criticism of this clinic was the i lack of professional (i.e. ii gynecological) persons to not tj only perform abortions, but to have adequate follow-up [ programs for serious corn- a plications, several of which have been documented." ISSU no happens. It is probably ecause it is similar to a ,omen are uninformed about Dr. Heyward Fouche, chair man of the Abortion Committee, explains this criticism by saying only Columbia gynecologists have staff privileges at local hospitals, meaning the out-of town physicians could not give their patients follow-ups in the event of complications. No Columbia doctors currently work at Southern Women Services. There have been several omplications reported, in :luding one woman who had to ave her uterus removed after an ibortion at Southern Women iervices. Another woman began iemorrhaging badly several lays after the abortion and had to e. rushed to a doctor. However, heehan said, "There are less han one per cent complications ifter abortions and if com >lications do occur there are everal local hospitals within five ninutes ambulance time from he clinic. The hospital will ccept an emergency patient if hey are assured all medical xpenses will be paid." The linic will assume all medical ost if complications occur after he abortion. 'Tere are several advantages n using an outpatient clinic ather than checking into a ospital for an abortion. The cost er abortion at Richland demorial Hospital is $425 and the patient must stay overnight. The ntire procedure at an outpatient linic can be completed in a day r less. Extensive laboratory tests ierformed at Southern Women ervices.are notrequired by South ~arolina law, but are run for the 'enefit of the patient. Tests in lude V.D., sickle cell (when ippropriate) and group rh factor ests. If the fetal tissue, which is ent to the labortoryfollowing the bortion, shows no embryonic issue, there is a possiblility that was a tubal pregnancy and nmediatenedical attention for he woman is necessary. "If you think you might be regnant," said Linda Drilling, dministrator for Southern Vomen Services, "get a test now. The problem will not go away."