On Monday, February 14th, our group had the excellent oppurtunity of being able to tour a sexual and reproductive healthcare facility with an abortion provider. This tour was absolutely amazing, being extremely interesting and informative.
Instead of going in through the main entrance, our group went through the staff entrance. The abortion provider told us that there is a lot more security through the main entrance, but where we went we just had to write our names on a sign-in sheet. When we started our tour, we went directly to the second floor because the first floor was still being occupied by patients. The provider told us that the first floor was just a gynecology department and looked very much like a normal doctor’s office.
The second floor was very interesting. The abortion provider took us to the operating room and showed us around. We got to see the vacuum machine that the doctors use to actually perform the abortions. We saw the different sizes of tubes for different stages of pregnancy. The room had an operating table where the patient would lay down in and put their feet in these holders to keep the legs spread.
Aside from the two abortion operating rooms, we also saw a room in which they performed vasectomies and pap-smears. These rooms looked very similar to the other operating rooms.
After seeing all the operating rooms, we were taken to see the recovery room. There were a lot of chairs that looked like airplane seats, which had a heart rate monitor and an IV station. The abortion provider was very excited to show us the facility’s blanket heater, which I have to admit was pretty cool. They also had a lot of graham crackers and saltines, in addition to water and lollipops, for recovering patients.
Overall, this was an absolutely incredible experience that I will not forget! We are so grateful to the abortion provider and the facility for having us!
