Today is Abortion Provider Appreciation Day! Have you thanked an abortion provider yet?
We appreciate the work of abortion providers—we mean physicians of course, but all kinds of staff that work at healthcare facilities that provide abortion care identify as abortion providers—all the time, but even more so these days.
Research shows support for legal abortion is as high as its been since consistent polling began two decades ago, despite the efforts of politicians who routinely spread misinformation about abortion to manufacture controversy for political points. No matter what the politicians say, most people know the truth: Abortion is safe, legal, and common procedure sought by people of all religions and backgrounds.
That doesn’t mean, however, that the crude politicization of abortion has created unnecessary barriers for both physicians and patients.
These frontline workers have endured even more stress and challenges than usual in the last year, making it more important than ever to share insight into what abortion providers do to serve their patients, including counseling, helping patients overcome logistical barriers to care amid ever-shrinking access, and helping minors navigate a legal process called “judicial bypass.”
In Pennsylvania, people under 18 years old have the right to request permission to obtain an abortion without parental involvement—that process is called judicial bypass.
Women’s Law Project attorneys represent clients in judicial bypass hearings at no cost.
To celebrate Abortion Provider Appreciation Day, we recently spoke with Christa, Director of Counseling at Allegheny Reproductive Health Center, a healthcare facility that specializes in prenatal obstetric services, gynecology, abortion care, and LGBTQIA healthcare.
We spoke with Christa about her work. Thank you to Christa for sharing her time and insight!
WLP: Our supporters may support abortion rights, but not necessarily know everything abortion providers do for their clients beyond the procedure itself. Thank you for taking the time to talk with us so that we can share the news about the great work you’re doing!
So, what does your typical day look like?
Christa: As counselors, we meet with everyone who is getting an abortion.
We also help minors going through the judicial bypass process by acting as a liaison for them, helping them connect with family court and an attorney who can represent them, and generally preparing them for that hearing.
How did you get into abortion care?
I’ve always been passionate about reproductive justice and consider myself a feminist. A friend of a friend let me know there was a position open for a counselor and I’m been working here for about five years now. It’s been the best job I’ve ever.
What do you love about it?
When you’re passionate about something the work is rewarding, and you see every day in real-time how you’re impacting people’s lives and helping them. I enjoy bringing a sense of relief during what can be a stressful time, and that’s an immediate reward that you don’t always get doing other types of work.
Every day at work we get to see a resolution, or just provide support for people during a difficult time. Patients can be stressed not just because of a medical procedure they’re going through, but also the barriers and obstacles they have to go through to even get here.
There are too many barriers to care in Pennsylvania as it is, and then the pandemic hit. Has your work changed since COVID-19?
Because we’re a doctor’s office and we’re essential workers, the biggest change has been mask-wearing and protocols when it comes to infection control and cleaning. People are no longer allowed to bring guests into the building, and sometimes they can get pretty upset about that. Though I have to say sometimes, having family or a partner present is not always helpful if they are not very supportive.
You said you work as a liaison for minor patients who need a judicial bypass hearing to obtain a judge’s permission for an abortion. What does that process look like?
Judicial bypass is the process by which minors who either don’t have a parent involved or do not want a parent involved can have a hearing with a judge that deems them mature enough to make the decision on their own and sign for themselves as an adult without a parent or guardian’s signature.
We schedule them and arrange their Abortion Control Act phone call, which is the state-required information they must receive from a physician at least 24 hours before their appointment or procedure. Then I reach out to the family court system and contact the person who schedules appointments for the judges.
I only give the court contact the patient’s initials to maintain privacy and confidentiality. Then I reach out to the attorneys then we schedule the judicial bypass hearing. We try to make that date for the hearing the same date as their abortion. When that’s the case, since COVID, the minor patient can then come into the clinic and attend the hearing over Zoom. The remote hearings have been a silver lining of COVID precautions. It is much better for the patient. Now, we don’t have to send minors down to the courthouse to find a building they’re unfamiliar with, find their attorney, and then meet with the judge in their chambers, a process that is just another barrier. They do their hearing over Zoom, and when the petition is granted, they can have their abortion.
In the last year, since COVID, we have noticed a three-fold increase in the judicial bypass requests that we’re getting. It’s three times as many as before. We’re getting more phone calls from minors, period.
Otherwise, it hasn’t changed much. We’re still providing the same care that we have been, and there are always pregnancy-related needs. We provide OB-GYN care, trans patient care, and we’re growing as a clinic. We are trying to open our doors and provide more access.
Do you ever encounter patients that come in with misconceptions or outright false beliefs about abortion?
Every day. Probably the most popular misconception, which couldn’t be farther from the truth, is when I’m asked, “Am I going to be infertile? Am I never going to be able to get pregnant again after having an abortion?”
That is simply not true. I don’t know if you’d call it an old wives’ tale, or misinformation from the church, or just a patriarchal fear-mongering to scare people away from abortion.
Do you encounter patients who wound up at a crisis pregnancy center before finding your clinic? What do they tell you about those experiences?
All the time. Some people are very angry because a lot of CPCs can be misleading. They give incorrect information, or a wrong ultrasound, or they will lead someone to believe they do abortions … but meanwhile the whole time they’re just stringing them along wasting time so by the time they get to us they’re farther along in the pregnancy. As a result, their procedure may cost more money, if they don’t time out altogether.
We had a patient from West Virginia who drove hours and hours and thought they were going to get an abortion but when they arrived, it was a crisis pregnancy center. They called us in tears and wanted to see us that day because they had driven so far, but we have to say so sorry, under Pennsylvania law, you have to get a 24-hour notice.
We got them scheduled, but they had to go back home and then drive back.
We’ve also had instance s of CPCs hounding people with phone calls even after they tell them they’ve terminated this pregnancy.
On Saturdays, there’s a van that will park very close to our clinic and try to lure some of our patients into the van. They promise a free ultrasound and tell people that if you get an ultrasound in the van, you don’t have to get one at the clinic, which isn’t true. They’ll say anything to get them inside and give them propaganda.
What else do you wish people knew about your work?
I would like people to know how common abortion is. As a clinic, we normalize abortion as a regular part of reproductive healthcare. Abortion is one of the most common procedures women and people with uteruses have—and of course, we do have trans patients who get abortions. Abortion doesn’t have to be a veil of secrecy. Having an abortion is something just as normal as having a baby or getting birth control.
Also, people are sometimes surprised to learn most of our clients are moms. People think, “Oh, it’s irresponsible teenagers” but no, these are adult parents who have children. Abortion is just a part of healthcare, or should be.
I’m still thinking about that client from West Virginia. Do you see a lot of patients from out of state?
Oh yes, we see many patients from Ohio and West Virginia. In West Virginia, there is only one abortion clinic and it is in Charleston, which is five hours from Western Pennsylvania. So we get lots of West Virginia and Ohio people.
As you well know, targeted harassment of abortion providers has risen in the last few years. Has the pandemic had an impact on protesters?
It hasn’t changed much! They’re still out there. We were surprised they didn’t seem to care about COVID-19. They weren’t social distancing and they’re still doing their thing. We have our typical regulars on weekdays, but Saturday is the big day. A university sends students to stand there and pray, and then we get some rogue eccentric dudes out there screaming. On Saturday, there’s usually a motley crew outside.
For people who don’t know, what do you mean when you say that Allegheny Reproductive Health Center provides LGBTQIA healthcare?
We provide gender-affirmation care, including hormone replacement therapy. I will write letters of support for gender-affirming surgeries.
We have increasing visibility with the trans community and we made it our mission to open our doors to trans patients and trans people getting abortions. During intake, we ask all our patients what pronouns they prefer and their legal sex—which can throw people, but it gives us an educational opportunity to explain that some of our patients are transgender and that sex and gender are different. So, that’s something good and we’re moving in the right direction.
Even just a few years ago, insurance companies would ask things like, “Why is this man getting a hysterectomy?” In healthcare, people are starting to learn about biological sex versus how people identify and respectful language surrounding that.
Historically, it was women, women, women and now it’s women plus.
Thanks for taking the time to talk with us today. We appreciate you!
The Women’s Law Project is a public interest law center in Pennsylvania devoted to advancing and defending the rights of women, girls, and LGBTQ+ people in Pennsylvania and beyond.
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