NEW YORK, NEW YORK CITY: According to a New York City writer, Planned Parenthood denied her request for an abortion because she needs a wheelchair. Roxanne Schiebergen, 30, also said the stunning rejection forced her to apply for termination at another facility, at a cost of $2,000, which was four times as much.
The New York Times heard from Schiebergen about their experiences. She told the publication that she started dating a man in 2021, and about a month later she discovered she was pregnant. I was freaking out, she said. I continued to take exams. I had just started dating someone. I wanted to start a family with the person I loved, but I didn’t know him.
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The Dutch native, who was unable to work due to a car accident she suffered as a teenager, claimed that she called Planned Parenthood of Greater New York last July and tried to make an appointment. “I started crying right away. According to Schiebergen, who also claimed not to have mentioned the wheelchair during the call, she informed the woman that she had a spinal cord injury and bars in her back from scoliosis. “People make decisions for me about what I can and can’t do when they hear the word ‘wheelchair,'” she continued, “without understanding what I do for myself every day.”
The actress reportedly got the appointment and was informed that canceling it would cost her $500. Later, Schiebergen said, the nonprofit called her to confirm, and she informed them, “By the way, I’m in a wheelchair. Just confirming that you guys have an elevator. However, a Planned Parenthood employee canceled her appointment without providing assistance, claiming, “We do not perform procedures for people in wheelchairs.”
“I felt like this couldn’t be real,” Schiebergen noted. I started negotiating. I mumbled something like, “I can sit at a table by myself.” I’m quite self-sufficient. I said so in tears. However, she was shocked to learn of a marketing flyer for a planned parenting event, entitled “Bans Off Our Bodies,” which featured a woman in a wheelchair.
To make sure her meeting with Planned Parenthood wasn’t a misunderstanding, Schiebergen called the organization again. “I was really at a loss, like maybe I said or did something wrong,” Schiebergen said. She sought an abortion while pretending to be pregnant. “I am in a wheelchair due to a spinal cord injury. I cant walk. She said to someone from the company on the phone, “I just want to make sure it’s not a problem. This time she was rejected.
But after learning about the call, a Planned Parenthood staffer approached her and confirmed her appointment. “When someone with a disability calls Planned Parenthood to arrange an abortion — which is already a scary and chaotic experience — they should be welcomed and asked how Planned Parenthood can safely help without saying ‘no.’ no, no, multiple times,” Schiebergen noted.
“We deeply regret that Ms. Schiebergen was misinformed regarding Planned Parenthood of Greater New York’s ability to provide abortions to wheelchair users,” said Samuel R. Mitchell Jr., Planned Parenthood’s chief operating officer, in a statement following the release of News from Schiebergen. The company stated, “Ms Schiebergen’s appointment was clearly a failure and we sincerely apologize,” while also blaming a third-party provider for the issue. PPGNY terminated its agreement with this particular provider last year.
However, some people criticized Planned Parenthood on Twitter. For a college project, author and wheelchair user Emily Ladau tweeted, “I decided to write an accessibility assessment for my local Planned Parenthood. denied. While ten years later I am actively involved in some of PPGNY’s work to make sex education more inclusive and accessible, it shows how far we still have to go. What does a wheelchair have to do with anything, remarked one user. Nothing on her internal organs, of course. Harold Pollack, a professor at the University of Chicago, continued, “Inexcusable lack of access by this Planned Parenthood facility. Caring for wheelchair users is a self-evident and fundamental obligation under the ADA.