Abortion

North Dakota Abortion Patients Get Unlikely Gift

The Fargo woman running the project wants to remind women who get abortions that they are not alone.

Photo: stevetoearth/flickriver.

Often patients will receive cards and flowers after a medical procedure. Now Fargo’s Meg Roberts is experimenting with extending that form of patient care and goodwill to women who have had an abortion.

The Red River Women’s Clinic, North Dakota’s sole public abortion center, has decided to extend a pilot program called “Plants for Patients,” where patients are offered plants with handmade notes and homemade ceramic pots to take with them after their procedure has been completed.

Via the Fargo Forum:

[Meg Roberts] chose succulents to place in the cup-like pots because of their wide variety of colors, shapes and sizes.

Like the women who come to the clinic, she says, they’re similar but different. They may be there for similar reasons, but their circumstances are different.

“For some women, abortion is a relief, and for others, it’s a tragedy,” she says.

Included with the pots are notes from supporters with messages like, “You are loved. You are beautiful. Today might have been a tough day for you, or it might have been a blessing. Just take it easy for a while. Everything will be fine!”

“Most women are astounded by the fact that they’ve got a handwritten card from a complete stranger,” Roberts says.

According to the Forum, at least two thirds of the patients have taken a plant with them since the program began two months earlier.