In March, one of our affiliated clinics1 received their first bad review on Google. They were sorry to discover that it brought down their average rating…to 4.9 stars out of 5.
Soon it was proven to be a fake review, and their rating rose back up to 5-stars, with 527 reviews.
Having so many reviews boosts their search engine performance, populating an awareness loop that brings in over a hundred women per month. At the clinic in Northridge, they served almost 2,000 clients last year, both men and women. People will drive over an hour to go to their clinic, simply because the reviews are so good.
Executive Director Debi Harvey shared, “It isn’t supposed to appear that we are about saving babies more than helping her make the choice for life. If she feels we’re about saving the baby more than her, her wall goes up. We want to be a safe place for women.” She credits many of their joyful, grateful clients to that mentality.
Their doors opened in 1992, and the clinic started intentionally using paid advertising to grow and compete with abortion giants. Now, their 3000 square-foot facility is booked solid most of the time, with seventeen on staff to serve both medical patients and parenting classes. After years of praying, they’re opening a second location.
They did a feasibility study to find most fertile ground for a second clinic, and decided that the demographics in Burbank/North Hollywood needed their ministry most. Most medical buildings in the area were fully occupied, and expensive to boot. But the Lord made a way for them when a Glendale clinic closed, leaving space that they are now in the process of moving into.
One of the biggest parts of their ministry is an intentional process for abortion-vulnerable fathers. Last year, 400 men received pregnancy decision coaching. More fathers entered parenting classes as well. 30% of their total clients are men, which the clinic staff is thrilled by, because statistics say that 80% of women will choose life if the father wants to keep the baby.
They also offer pregnancy testing, and limited obstetric ultrasounds to confirm pregnancy. Ultrasound pregnancy confirmation is necessary to receive Medi-Cal insurance coverage for prenatal care. It also plays a big role in helping women connect with their preborn babies, and hear their heartbeats.
For those who participate in the pregnancy and parenting classes—offered for both parents, up to baby’s first birthday—baby clothes are available for free in their overstuffed closet.
As to the staff, the medical team is one of the best parts of the ministry. While the medical field can often present conflicts of value and morality, working together with like-minded nurses and staffers for a good cause is a beautiful calling. Trina, one of their staff members, said, “We’re all very passionate about helping these people even with the hardest stories. We laugh a lot, but we also cry together when we receive hard news. We’ve heard ‘I’ve decided to discontinue the pregnancy,’ and that is so hard, but we know we did all we could.”
Debi explained the pressure of working at a pregnancy clinic: “You’re about to go into a room and pour everything you have into them. You need to come out of the room into a joyful environment and go and help the next and next one. At the end of the day, we do it for the Lord. We want the women to know there is hope in Christ. They can sense there are people who care and want to be there for you.
“The reason I got into what I do is because I had an abortion when I was 18, and it took 7 years for me to admit it was a sin. Nobody gave me options or helped me. The nurse asked me, “What do you wanna do?” and naturally, I didn’t want to be pregnant.
“I don’t want women to feel there is no one to talk to or that nobody cares enough to speak to the situation. We care about their babies and we care about them.”
Their guiding motto is, “We are working with women one by one by one.”
Today, they have received their permit and construction has begun on the second location.
Support all our affiliated clinics at righttolifeleague.org/donate.
The clinic has requested to remain anonymous.
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