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The Guardian - US
The Guardian - US
World
Carter Sherman in Petersburg, Virginia

Whole Woman’s Health abortion clinic offers ‘hopeful’ sanctuary for US south

A woman wearing a blue blouse wipes down a chair inside a waiting room
Sonja Miller, managing director of Whole Woman’s Health, cleans the waiting area before the opening of the new clinic in Petersburg, Virginia, on 21 August. Photograph: Hadley Chittum/The Guardian

With her blond hair pulled into a braided ponytail, a small gold cross slung around her neck and decked out in teal scrubs covered in cartoon frogs, Brenda Morgan was polite but firm as she doled out instructions to her clinic employees.

People rarely pick up their phone if they don’t recognize the number, so you’ll probably have to leave a voicemail, Morgan advised a trio of staffers. When you leave that voicemail, she continued, never say you’re calling from Whole Woman’s Health. Instead, Morgan suggested they say something vague, like: “This is Brenda from your doctor’s office. Please give me a call back.”

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