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By Gail Choice, OW Contributor -- 

There’s something wonderful happening in the Crenshaw District, lives will be saved; and lives will be changed thanks to the Westside Pregnancy Clinic which officially opened its doors Saturday, January 23.

A ribbon cutting ceremony which hosted a number of notables including 8th District Councilman Bernard C. Parks, and actresses Patricia Heaton (ABC’s “The Middle”) and Camille Winbush (ABC Family’s “The Secret Life of The American Teenager”) welcomed the new clinic. But even before the clinic was opened to the public, some seventy young girls have already found their way into the facility seeking free medical advice and help.

The clinic advocates early prenatal care, provide pregnancy testing, pregnancy and parenting education and support, and spearhead the prevention, testing and treatment of sexually transmitted infections.

The Westside Pregnancy Clinic (WPC), is a non-profit community care clinic based in West Los Angeles that has been providing quality support services to individuals in the Los Angeles area for more than 30 years. And the Crenshaw clinic is their third site. This clinic grew from WPC’s desire to expand its commitment to a community with the greatest need. The new clinic is located in a federally designated Medically Underserved Area of the Crenshaw District. Thirty-seven percent of the residents live below the federal poverty line and teens account for over 80% of the live births.

Tera Hilliard, who was a teen mother and as she describes it, an ‘abortion survivor’ is the Clinic Director. Before coming to the WPC she was the director of a faith based pregnancy center, which was vital to the community, but unable to provide medical care and other services sorely needed by their young clients. By partnering with the WPC she is able offer the community a number of vital services. Hilliard says “By educating our clients, we’ll equip them with the information they need to make informed choices about sexual activity, pregnancy and parenting.”

The Westside Pregnancy Clinic is licensed through the state of California they abide by the dictates of California guidelines. Hilliard says a girl as young as 11 is able to come in for a pregnancy test without parental permission, plus services are free and confidential.

Teen pregnancy is on the rise, and often times girls are afraid to talk to their parents and don’t know what to do or where to go and end up getting advice in all the wrong places. Studies have shown that some girls take drastic measures to hide their pregnancies, or to abort. The Westside Clinic offers girls a port in the storm.

From medical care, consultation, to a shoulder to lean on, the clinic helps girls make ‘choices they can live with.’

The Medically Underserved Area of the Crenshaw District also has a two-thirds higher incidence of chlamydia, gonorrhea and syphilis. Plus the Center for Disease Control (CDC) continues to view the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the African American communities as a continuing public health crisis in the United States.

Hilliard says “We believe in empowering youth to make informed sexual health decisions. When you’re empowered and you’re thinking about something other than sex, then you don’t have to worry about birth control or condoms because you’re thinking about college and the things you need to do be empowered, like sports, for example.”

Hilliard says she kept her children involved in sports and other activities; by keeping them busy and making sure they used their time wisely, her family successfully avoided the teen pregnancy issue.

Under the direction of Tera Hilliard, The Westside Pregnancy Clinic will offer the light of hope, wisdom and service to teens who find they are going down a dark and lonely path. No shame, no blame, just an honest effort to help, and get families and lives back on the right track.

The Westside Pregnancy Clinic is located at 4249 Crenshaw Blvd. and can be reached at (323) 299-9977. Visit their web site at www.wpclinic.org. Gail can be contacted at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it