Abortion is the termination of a pregnancy, whether voluntary or involuntary. Some view it as terminating a life while others do not. It is a choice that many may face.  If you believe yourself to be pregnant and would like further information or to know the resources available, you can go to the WRRC, Student Health and Wellness Center, Sutter Davis Hospital or Planned Parenthood. Ways of prevention include abstinence and Contraception (before, during, and after Sex).  A full explanation and other alternatives are listed on the Pregnancy page.

In 1989, the Davis City Council approved a resolution to declare Davis a prochoice city.  The LA Times http://articles.latimes.com/19891118/news/mn1577_1_citycouncil ran a short piece about it.

Oftentimes the cost of having an abortion increases with the amount of weeks one is pregnant.

While abortion has stirred up a few protests in Davis, the Davis Wiki is not a good place to host debates.

 Getting an Abortion in Davis 

If you have decided to seek an abortion near Davis, you will have the following choices to make:
 If you are in the first trimester, do you want to have a medical (by pills) or surgical (vacuum aspiration) abortion? Both types of services are available locally, but some providers only offer one or the other.
 If you opt for or must have a surgical abortion, is it important to you to be able to have someone in the exam room with you to provide support? Some allow this (e.g. Sutter Hospitals Womens Clinic and The Womens Health Specialists of Sacramento); Planned Parenthood does not.
 Will you pay for this procedure with insurance or not? Even if you have health insurance, paying out of pocket can sometimes be cheaper (e.g. at Planned Parenthood and The Womens Health Specialists of Sacramento) depending on your insurance policy and income, due to slidingscale cost structures.

Information you will want to have on hand:
 The date of the first day of your last period
 Blood type (women with some blood types will be given antibody injections; if you dont know it they will give you a blood test)
 Your income (some providers charge on a sliding scale)

Types of abortion in the first trimester: medical (by pills) or surgical (vacuum aspiration)
If you are up to seven weeks pregnant (nine weeks from the start of your last period) you may opt for a medical abortion, in which case, the doctor will give you a pill at the office following an exam, and you will take the second pill (actually four pills of one medication) two days later at home. In the case of a medical abortion, the abortion process will last about seven days with the heaviest cramping and bleeding during the six hours following pill ingestion. You may be prescribed pain medication and/or be advised to take over the counter pain medication. A week later, you will follow up at the clinic to verify that the abortion was successful. 5–8% of women will discover the abortion failed, and will need to then have a surgical abortion.

Surgical abortions cannot be performed as early on as can medical abortions but they can be performed later on than medical abortions. They are generally are not performed on women who are less than 6 weeks from the first day of their last period. Surgical abortions are quickereverything from your initial consultation to the abortion itself can be completed in one day. Two procedures are usually performed in this day: in the morning the patient receives counseling, an ultrasound is performed to verify the stage and location of the pregnancy, and the patient receives treatment to dilate and soften her cervix; in the afternoon the patient undergoes the abortion procedure. A variety of pain medications may be prescribed, and can be accompanied by local anesthesia (a cervical block). While the procedure itself is painful, subsequent cramping is less prolonged than in a medical abortion and bleeding is lighter.

After the first trimester, only surgical abortions are performed, and procedures other than vacuum aspiration are employed.

Planned Parenthood
You can http://www.plannedparenthood.org/findCenterProcess.asp search for planned parenthood locations near Davis. You can also call the national Planned Parenthood number for more information: 1800230PLAN. The various local Planned Parenthood clinics offer abortion services on different days of the week. As of Aug 2008, the nearest Planned Parenthood that provides abortion services is in Sacramento.  Its location is:


Some Planned Parenthood clinics offer both medical (by pills) and surgical (vacuum aspiration) abortions; others provide only one of these types of services. For example, Fairfield Planned Parenthood only provides surgical abortions. In the case of a surgical abortion at a Planned Parenthood clinic, you can expect to arrive in the morning (between 7am and 10am depending on your appointment time), receive initial counseling and medical preparation (cervical dilation), and wait onsite for 15 hours until your cervix is prepared and the practitioner is available (the wait may be hours longer if it is a busy day) for the abortion procedure. The abortion procedure itself will only take a few minutes. Planned Parenthoods policy is not to allow anyone (e.g. a friend or partner) to accompany the patient in the exam room during the procedure, citing patient safety, although they can accompany you in the waiting room. Other providers do allow the patient to be accompanied.

 Sutter Davis Hospital 


The Womens Clinic at Sutter Davis Hospital is the most local option in Davis aside from private practices. Both medical (by pills) and surgical (vacuum aspiration) abortions are available here. Patients undergoing a surgical abortion are not expected to remain at the clinic between their morning and afternoon appointments (like at Planned Parenthood), and can go home during this interval. The base price of either procedure for someone without insurance is $450, but the negotiated rate charged to insurance companies, of which you will pay a percentage, is higher (likely about $600 for someone with the Aetna Student health Plan, but it will vary). Your insurance may cover partial or full cost.

The clinic is in the building immediately to the west of the hospital which is about five steps away the Unitrans P/Q Bus Line Pline stop (location #44 on the route map; stop #199). The Qline stop is across the street.

 The Feminist Womens Health Center / Womens Health Specialists of Sacramento 
http://www.womenshealthspecialists.org/
Like Planned Parenthood, this organization provides abortion services on an incomedependent sliding scale to those without insurance. Cost appears to be higher than Planned Parenthood, but unlike at Planned Parenthood patients opting for a surgical abortion may be accompanied by a friend in the exam room during the abortion procedure. As of January, 2014, surgical abortions are performed on Wednesdays.

 Information for UC Davis Students 

Availability: UC Davis Student Health and Counseling Services (SHCS) does not provide abortion services. Instead, a primary care provider will provide you with a referral to seek these services nearby. If you are not going to use your student health plan insurance, you do not need to get a referral from SHCS before contacting abortion providers to schedule your appointment.

Cost: Most students are on the Aetna Student Health Plan. Depending on what provider of abortion services you choose, it might be cheaper for your to use your Aetna Student Health Plan insurance or not. Under this insurance, you have a $300 deductible, and then your insurance will cover either 80% or 60% of the remaining negotiated cost of the procedure, depending on whether you choose a provider that is innetwork or outofnetwork. As of January, 2014, the only local innetwork provider of abortion services is the Sutter Womens Clinic. While Planned Parenthood is not an innetwork provider, they charge for abortion services on a sliding scale to those not using insurance, so depending on your income the cost to you might be less if you do not use your insurance. The Insurance Services desk can give you more information.



 Groups opposing Abortion Rights 

  Students for Life at UCD
  Christian Democratic Party
  http://www.saclife.org/ The Sacramento Life Center provides free pregnancy tests, ultrasounds, counseling
  http://www.bgmh.org/ Bishop Gallegos Maternity Home  gives a loving, safe place for women to live and have their child.
  http://www.rachelsvineyard.org/ Rachels Vineyard offers help to those healing from abortion.

 Groups supporting Abortion Rights 

  National Organization for Women
  Planned Parenthood provides abortions, as well as other prenatal options. To find the nearest location: http://www.plannedparenthood.org/findCenterProcess.asp Search
  Womens Health Specialists/ The Feminist Womens Health Centers of California http://www.womenshealthspecialists.org/
