Steriles

2 - Fertiles

"Your hCG levels are consistent with being about a month to a month and a half pregnant," the doctor said with a neutral expression. I guess she was unsure whether to seem happy for me or apologetic.
"No, that's impossible." I furrowed my brow and looked closely at the paperwork she was showing me, even though I had no idea what the numbers meant. "I was sterilized at birth."
"Would you like an ultrasound to confirm?" she asked, seeming a bit exasperated. "It may take a while." I nodded, unable to form sounds with my mouth.
~~~☆~~~
"See that tiny dot there? That's your baby." She turned the screen so I could see a little blue dot in the black bubble that was my uterus. (A/N: ignore the sound in the video)

"Are you sure?" I asked. "That looks more like I accidentally pushed a nut up there. I mean, I can't remember it, but knowing me--" Fernanda jumped up from her chair to put a hand over my mouth.
The doctor chuckled. "We've actually had a few Steriles--or I guess, people who were supposed to be Steriles--come into the office and find out they were pregnant. In each case, I recommend an abortion and a re-sterilization. It looks really bad for the hospital you were born at and even the country if people find out someone with an S on their birth certificate isn't actually sterile."
"No, that's messed up!"
At this point, Fernanda had sat back down and put her head in her hands. "Jody, we can't afford a baby right now."
"I'm not getting rid of it. For all I know, this is my one chance to have a baby."
"I thought you didn't want kids," she pleaded. The doctor just stood there awkwardly. "Please, be reasonable."
"No." I shook my head and put my arms over my belly, as if to protect it from the doctor. "If they fucked up and didn't sterilize me, that's on them. I'm not taking it out on my baby."
~~~☆~~~
"It's not a baby until it's past 8 and a half months," Fernanda corrected me, belated, as we walked out of the clinic. "They decided this in, what, the 20s? 30s?"
"I don't care what it is legally, except 'mine.' They also decided that it's my choice what to do with it."
"Okay, well you have a few months to decide. I'm here with you whatever you do, but I can't handle another job." We both already had two jobs, one full time and one part time each. We had applied for food stamps before, but the budget for them has drastically decreased. The government doesn't really want more people to survive. Of course, they did have some welfare programs for new parents.
"I'm gonna apply for welfare again," I told her. "Now I can say that I'm pregnant on the application."
"Are you sure they'll believe you?"
"I mean, I have proof." I held up the after-visit summary with the positive result under pregnancy test. "I can submit this with our pay stubs." She nodded and suddenly put both of her arms around me. "Fern, I'm trying to walk!" I laughed, but she didn't seem so amused.
~~~2 weeks later~~~
"So, some of the documentation you sent was a Planned Parenthood after-visit summary with a positive pregnancy test?" the interviewer asked with an confused look on his face.
"Yes, sir," I replied, nodding. I had taken my binder off for this visit--first of all, I was probably going to have to get used to not wearing it for a while. Second of all, I would rather get misgendered a bit than have the questioning of my ability to have a baby doubled or my welfare denied outright.
"But it says here on your birth certificate that you're a Sterile. Care to explain how a Sterile can become pregnant?"
"I don't know, and I was just as surprised as you are, but that's what the doctor said. We did an ultrasound, too, because I didn't believe it."
"I was there, too," Fernanda chimed in. "I'll be... their witness." She was evidently confused about what pronouns to use in front of him.
"I'm going to order another pregnancy test with the County, but who's the father? We might be able to set him up to pay child support if you're separated."
I ignored my urge to say, "I'm the father, asshole," and looked to Fernanda because I didn't know what else I could say.
She cleared her throat. "I am, sir." She pointed at the M on her birth certificate. "I would prefer to be called 'she,' though."
He gave her a look. Evidently, he was still confused by the existence of trans people, even though we've been in popular media for at least a hundred years. "And you two live together?" We both agreed. "Okay, so this is a joint application from both of the parents. That might help you or hurt you, I'm not sure. But first, I'm gonna send..."--he looked through the papers again--"Jody back for a pregnancy test. If you go out that door and to the left, there'll be another door a few down on the right that has half of it open. Give them this form." He handed me a piece of paper with my name and "pregnancy test confirmation" scribbled in some of the lines. I was surprised it wasn't digitized by now.
When I got back into the room and handed him my--surprise, surprise--positive results, he looked them over and looked at my birth certificate again. "Okay, so since you're a Sterile, we can't give you financial support to have a baby. In fact, I was just on the phone with my superior and he said if you tested positive again I'm supposed to send you for re-sterilization. Obviously the first time failed, and it's US law--and now international law--for half of the population born since the law passed to be sterilized. You might be able to take it to court, but if you can't afford food, I doubt you can afford a lawyer. Or a baby, for that matter."