When Deanna Gomez found out she was pregnant in September 2023, she felt the timing couldn鈥檛 have been worse.
The college senior at California State University-San Bernardino worked 60 hours a week at two jobs. She used birth control. Motherhood was not in the plan. Not yet. 鈥淚 grew up poor. And I don鈥檛 want that for my children, like, ever,鈥� she said.
She wanted a medication abortion. It鈥檚 a two-step process: one drug taken at a doctor鈥檚 office, and another a day later to induce cramping and bleeding and empty the uterus. Gomez didn鈥檛 bother going to the university health clinic, thinking it was only for basic health needs.
She ended up driving more than 300 miles and paying hundreds of dollars in medical and travel expenses to obtain a medication abortion. She missed a month of classes, which put her graduation date in jeopardy. She had no idea she was entitled to a free medication abortion right on campus.
An LAist investigation has found that one year after California became the first state to require its public universities to provide abortion pills to students, basic information on where or how students can obtain the medication is lacking and, often, nonexistent.
鈥淚 was really upset when I found out,鈥� Gomez told LAist. 鈥淚 had to really push myself to make that money happen.鈥�
LAist initially found that 11 of 23 CSU campus clinics did not have any information about medication abortion on their clinic websites, nor did they list it as a service offered. Of the University of California鈥檚 10 campuses, eight mentioned medication abortion on their clinic websites. (Five CSU campuses and one UC campus added information after .)
Through conversations with students and faculty at multiple campuses, LAist found there was little information for students to obtain the pills.
鈥淚f I had known that, I would have taken advantage of it,鈥� Gomez said. 鈥淚 spent a lot of time driving around after work, switching schedules, putting my homework on the back burner.鈥�
California legislators in 2019 passed the law that requires all the state鈥檚 33 public university campuses to provide abortion pills. It took effect in January 2023.
鈥淲e wanted to make sure that students, female students, had access to this right,鈥� said Connie Leyva, the former Pomona-area state senator who authored the bill.
The legislature created a $10.3 million fund of privately raised money to help universities implement the new law. Each campus received $200,000 in one-time funding to pay for the medication and cover costs such as facility upgrades, equipment, training, telehealth services, and security upgrades.
The funding did not include any requirement that campus clinics inform students the medication was available to them.
Leyva said she doesn鈥檛 recall any conversations about 鈥渋ncluding something on advertising that you could get a medicated abortion on campus.鈥� She said she鈥檚 disappointed in the law鈥檚 implementation, but not surprised.
鈥淓verything starts at the top. And if the president or chancellor of the university knows they have to offer it, but if they don鈥檛 agree that women should have access to abortion services, then they might just think, 鈥榃e鈥檒l leave it off, we don鈥檛 have to worry about it,鈥欌�� Leyva said.
Spokesperson Ryan King said UC President Michael Drake was not available to comment.
鈥淭he student communities at each UC campus are unique,鈥� Heather Harper, a spokesperson for UC Health in Drake鈥檚 office, wrote in an email. 鈥淎s a result, communication to students at each location takes different forms and may include website content, flyers, emails, person-to-person conversations or other methods.鈥�
The office of CSU Chancellor Mildred Garc铆a did not reply to a request for comment.
At Gomez鈥檚 San Bernardino campus, abortion as an option was mentioned only in one place: in small letters on a poster inside exam rooms at the health center.
A student wouldn鈥檛 see that until they were already waiting for a doctor or nurse.
鈥淲e need to work harder if there is a student who needed the service and wasn鈥檛 aware that they could access it through us and not have to pay for it,鈥� said Beth Jaworski, executive director of health, counseling, and wellness at CSU-San Bernardino. 鈥淏ut it鈥檚 one student. We haven鈥檛 been providing the service very long. It鈥檚 been just about a year now.鈥�
Medication abortion has since been added to the list of services on the clinic鈥檚 website.
Ray Murillo, California State University鈥檚 interim assistant vice chancellor of student affairs, said he and other administrative staffers are developing guidance so campuses share the same information 鈥渢o help in our training efforts for the frontline staff and providers when they鈥檙e being asked questions about the service and what we provide.鈥�
Gomez wants more done, including flyers, emails, and social media posts directed at both faculty and students.
鈥淵ou want to market the football games, you want to market the volleyball games. Why is that important, and abortions are not?鈥� she said.
Gomez did graduate in December 2023, becoming the first person in her family to earn a bachelor鈥檚 degree. But she鈥檚 angry at her alma mater for keeping the abortion pills a secret.
This article is from a partnership that includes聽,听听补苍诲 杨贵妃传媒視頻 Health News.