I am the medical director and owner of Early Options. I wanted to respond to the one star reviews written by people who have never been to our office. They plant the idea of suspicion that our reviews are fraudulant. This has now motivated our patients to write 4 star reviews instead of 5, because they think people will not believe them. I felt that I needed to respond. \r
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The women and their partners who write these reviews are real people. We have never, and would never fraudulantly write comments on behalf of our patients. In fact it would be impossible, since we would need to generate an email address for each comment. Our patients are motivated to tell others about their experience at Early Options, because they can't believe how simple it can be to end an early pregnancy. \r
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I was first exposed to abortions as a doctor in 1995, as a 3rd year resident. I went to be trained at a ""reputable"" clinic, where I saw women being treated disrespectfully, women being put in rooms with other women all wearing paper gowns, women being encouraged to have a surgical procedure with scraping and be put to sleep when it could be done with noninvasive methods that don't have major complications. I saw that women's partners had to stay in the waiting room and were not allowed to participate. I saw that women were all scheduled to arrive at the same time, and on average spent 6-7 hours in the clinic, going through an assembly line process. I saw that women had to go through mandatory counseling, even though many did not want to talk about their decision, and just wanted to get it done. \r
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As I learned more, I discovered this high volume assembly line care is the norm at most clinics, and that this is how abortion care has been provided since the 1970's. As a family doctor, I thought there should be a better way. I believe that as women go through this difficult experience in their life, they should be treated with respect and given the most advanced, noninvasive medical care.\r
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At our office we have scheduled appointments, and recommend the nonsurgical Aspiration Procedure as the most safe and simple way to end early pregnancy. This procedure is completed in 3-5 minutes, usually involves about a minute of period-like cramping, has no major complications, and immediate recovery. The visit is private, all care is conducted in private examination rooms, and companions are welcome. You have a dedicated clinical assistant with you the entire time. The first thing that happens is you meet your woman doctor, and she discusses the procedure and answers any questions. The average time of a visit at our office is 1-2 hours. Our procedures are nonsurgical. You can eat normally before your visit, and resume your normal activities when you leave our office. \r
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Our staff and doctors love what they do and find it tremendously rewarding to provide women with quality medical care, especially when they are expcecting to have a difficult experience. This love of our work influences every detail of the care we provide women who call us or enter our office. As the founder of Early Options, I personally look at these reviews daily - I am immensely proud that our doctors and dedicated staff have created this environment for women to have such a positive experience where they feel cared for, and not punished or traumatized. I've been there myself, as have most women. \r
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In my opinion, the Early Options model is how all abortion should be provided - like any other high quality medical care. Why do women have to go through such an emotionally and physically traumatic process when there is such a simple way to end early pregnancy? I believe it is because abortion clinics were set up as a segregated model of care, and this segregation has allowed for substandard medical care. At Early Options, we have dared to establish a decent, caring, professional way for women and their companions to go through this difficult experience. \r
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