At 19, I faced an unintended pregnancy. The fear of letting people down and losing a university scholarship, amongst other things, led me to decide on abortion. I spent the following several years regretting that call and secretly punishing myself for that selection. Someday, I learned a couple of pregnancy loss support group at what’s now Claris Health. Joining that group modified my life. I spotted that I wasn’t alone and that my life wasn’t defined by that one decision. They helped me consider a vibrant future was still possible, and because of this a passion ignited in me to assist others in similar situations.
For the last 21 years, I even have served because the chief executive officer of Claris Health, a Los Angeles-based nonprofit women’s health clinic licensed by the State of California and accredited by the Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Health Care. During my tenure, we’ve adopted a philosophy that transcends labels and identifies common ground principles that exist between pro-life and pro-choice groups. While labels may help some people capture and explain their political ideology, they’re too divisive and unhelpful in relation to caring for vulnerable people. We wish to do something different: create a community higher equipped to serve those at-risk of or facing unintended pregnancies, in order that they arrive to a deep understanding of all the choices available to them.
We’re keen about caring for people during their critical pregnancy decisions and within the months and years that follow. On this post-Roe world, as our society becomes more divided, the necessity for organizations like Claris is much more vital for girls and families facing unintended pregnancy.
On this post-Roe world, as our society becomes more divided, the necessity for organizations like Claris is much more vital for girls and families facing unintended pregnancy.
Unfortunately, within the weeks because the Supreme Court ruled in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health, organizations like ours have been maligned by politicians and pundits who claim that proper take care of women facing pregnancies must include direct and unrestricted access to abortion. Organizations that don’t provide abortion services are then falsely accused of blocking abortion access and being anti-woman. They are sometimes labeled “crisis pregnancy centers.” It’s insinuated that these “centers” share misleading marketing information, provide deceptive, unsafe health care and limited services, and use other manipulative tactics.
These misrepresentations are neither latest nor without consequence. Through the years, the Claris mobile medical unit has been uninvited to health events where we were scheduled because the only medical providers to supply women’s health screenings and care. We’ve got lost funding opportunities, and there have been repeated attempts to distort the superb community status that Claris has held for 46 years.
Claris Health is a primary care clinic that provides integrated medical, mental health and support services including prenatal care, testing and treatment for sexually transmitted infections, well-woman exams, skilled therapy, pregnancy loss groups, parenting classes and way more. Our medical services are performed by a team of nurse practitioners, nurse midwives and physician assistants. Our medical director is board-certified in obstetrics and gynecology and maternal-fetal medicine. Our prenatal care program is praised for lowering rates of infant and maternal mortality. Our mobile medical unit provides health screenings to people in under-resourced communities and was critical in offering revolutionary services throughout the pandemic. We’re transparent with patients, donors and the general public about which services we do and don’t provide.
While there are organizations that work with pregnant women which might be guilty of unethical practices, there are numerous others that operate in accordance with the very best medical and ethical standards and have dedicated a long time to serving people in need. They are actually facing threats of laws to shut them down from members of Congress. Local politicians are issuing notices to steer women away from these clinics, and abortion activists are encouraging vandalism at their facilities.
Organizations that don’t provide abortion services are then falsely accused of blocking abortion access and being anti-woman. They are sometimes labeled “crisis pregnancy centers.”
It shouldn’t be only pro-choice groups that threaten the work we do at Claris; each side have contributed to the politicization of this issue. For instance, Reproaction, an abortion activist organization, created a database of agencies nationwide that they consider “anti-abortion fake clinics.” Their list largely originated from published online directories created by Heartbeat International, a network of pro-life pregnancy resource centers, and others. Heartbeat International claims the directory is meant to supply resources to pregnant women, and so they include Heartbeat-affiliated agencies in addition to unaffiliated agencies, like Claris Health. That registry is then utilized by abortion rights groups to discover and discourage women from visiting so-called crisis pregnancy centers. We contacted each Reproaction and Heartbeat International after learning about these unauthorized listings. Despite our requests and evidence that we don’t fit these the pro-choice or pro-life labels, they each refuse to remove us. We subsequently proceed to be targeted and misrepresented to the general public.
Not one of the accusations hurled at Claris come from those that have genuinely experienced the care that we offer without spending a dime or at low-cost to the community. I recently had the privilege of hosting a panel of former and current Claris patients. Some had experienced abortion, others were single mothers, and a few had made adoption plans. I used to be blown away by the shared experience of their stories. All of them got here to Claris desperately needing support and the space to process all their thoughts. I repeatedly heard two phrases: “After I got here to Claris I knew I wasn’t alone anymore, and I wouldn’t be judged,” and “Claris became and remains to be family to me.” Patients recurrently share that Claris is essentially the most nonjudgmental clinic they’ve ever visited. 1000’s of exit surveys indicate that patients feel heard and accepted, regardless of what they select.
Extreme groups will give attention to their divisive political issues; we’ll give attention to individual lives caught between each side.
Leaders in California have said it can turn out to be a sanctuary state for girls across the nation looking for unrestricted access to abortion. This definition of sanctuary refers to at least one option—abortion access for all. Meanwhile, Claris Health has been known for greater than 4 a long time as a real sanctuary and a shelter for people who find themselves wrestling with tough pregnancy decisions and want to know they’ve greater than only one option.
Abortion is a giant decision. It’s a choice that I even have personally faced, and it’s what initially led me to Claris as a patient who witnessed their life-changing care firsthand. These pregnancy decisions will not be to be rushed or made in desperation. I pray this Supreme Court ruling challenges people across all political lines to hitch together, give attention to the lives directly affected and supply care and resources so nobody feels trapped or alone.
I challenge everyone to think about: How are you going to help people overcome social and economic pressures to see potential through their circumstances? And if abortions decrease in your area, do you may have adequate support services to assist with prenatal care, paid maternity leave, material assistance or other critical needs? If abortions increase in your area, are you able to guarantee that this isn’t due to an absence of support or resources? How are you ready to assist people process these decisions?
Claris means clarity, and that’s what we’ll proceed to supply care to those we’re privileged to serve. Extreme groups will give attention to their divisive political issues; we’ll give attention to individual lives caught between each side. We are going to fight for those lives, and we’ll all the time provide comprehensive, nonjudgmental care, whatever the laws or agendas in place. People should know that they’ve options and, most significantly, that they will not be alone.