Clinic brings free pregnancy services to Crenshaw Boulevard
Stephanie Guzman | 1-24-2010 | Comments |
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At 14 years old, Tera Hillard became pregnant and then had an abortion. She became pregnant again at 17 and then 19. A former student of Audubon Middle School in Crenshaw, she said while she did have access to condoms and birth control, she did not have a solid support system.“I had everything that we say teenagers need,” said Hillard. “But the only thing that I did not have was someone to talk to, who would understand who I was, who would counsel with me, who would encourage me to change. And that is why we are here.”
More than 20 years later, Hillard is the director of the Westside Pregnancy Clinic on Crenshaw Boulevard, just a couple blocks from her middle school. The clinic provides free pregnancy tests, STD tests, ultrasounds, parenting classes, and offers support groups for women who have had an abortion. The clinic has already served 70 clients since they opened last October.
“Just today, a young girl was passing by and came in to make an appointment,” said Hillard, who believes the clinic will help the community.
The clinic, however, does not perform abortions. Hilliard says since they’ve been open, they haven’t had anyone ask for an abortion. The clinic makes it clear on their website and before making appointments that they do not perform abortions or give referrals for abortions, but they do provide information. On their website, they list various abortion procedures, from taking Plan B to having a surgical abortion.
Hilliard said in an e-mail that the clinic still serves those that choose to have an abortion.
“Should she choose to terminate the pregnancy, after the procedure, our staff is available for any additional counseling or support services needed,” she said.
The Westside Pregnancy Clinic said it is providing its services at “the right time and the right place.” South Los Angeles is considered a medically underserved area.
The County of Los Angeles Public Health includes Crenshaw in service planning area (SPA) 6, along with other South Los Angeles areas including Adams, Exposition Park, Leimert Park, South Vermont, Watts and Compton. The clinic said that in SPA 6, 67 percent of African American men and 29 percent of African American women have been diagnosed with HIV/AIDS. They hope to become a resource for those in the area who don’t have medical insurance to prevent STDs and HIV/AIDS.
The county’s last health assessment report was in 1999, where 22,889 births were recorded. Of those live births, 7 percent of the mothers were 18 years of age or younger, and 20 percent of all delivering mothers received pre-natal care after their first trimester or not at all.
Although the Westside Pregnancy Clinic will serve those in the Crenshaw District and beyond, more clinics and public medical services are needed in South Los Angeles.
Tegra Little, who grew up on Crenshaw Boulevard and 54th Street, said you just don’t see hospitals in South Los Angeles.
“You have to drive like 15 miles outside of the community to a hospital, and you should be able to have good clinics in your own back yard,” said Little.
Little belongs to the Faithful Central Bible Church. Her church owns The Forum in Inglewood, where last August, 6,000 people lined up to receive free medical, dental, and eye services. Little said her church is also partnering with the clinic to offer counseling.
Councilman Bernard Parks, who spoke at the ribbon-cutting ceremony on Saturday, January 23, said his district is medically underserved because of the expense of medical care.
“When hospitals hit that tipping scale of paid customers versus having customers that don’t have insurance, they go out of business.”
Parks said hospitals go out of business because almost 60 percent of people in his district do not have medical insurance. Without medical insurance, people use the hospital’s emergency room as a doctor’s visit or last resort. Federal law requires hospitals to care for anyone who walks into an emergency room, so the hospital ends up having to cover the costs.
“We’re seeing a lot of woman who have become pregnant and haven’t seen a doctor until they’ve delivered their baby,” said Westside Pregnancy Clinic CEO Talitha Phillips. That is why her clinic provides free pre-natal care and education.
Parks said he’s appreciative that clinics like these are springing up in South Los Angeles, especially with cuts to federal funding that caused other clinics in the area to close.
The Westside Pregnancy Clinic, which has three locations, receives some grants but is supported by many volunteers and donations, mostly from individuals. Phillips said her clinic has the longevity to provide free health care because it is not federally funded.
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