Ericka Cruz Guevarra: I’m Ericka Cruz Guevara, and welcome to The Bay. Local News to Keep You Rooted. Okay, So if you’ve lived in California your whole life, you’re probably used to having a lot of rights when it comes to reproductive health. So moving to another state can be a shock, especially if you’re an incoming college student, especially if it’s to one of the dozen or so states that have banned abortion.
April Dembosky: They’re very focused on what they want to study and the environment they want to study in. And reproductive health care is not always the first thing they’re thinking of.
Ericka Cruz Guevarra: Today, we’re going inside a health clinic at Oakland Technical High School, and we’re going to meet a student preparing to navigate abortion bans away from home. Stay with us.
April Dembosky: I met I’laysia Vital in June, right after she graduated from Oakland Technical High School.
Ericka Cruz Guevarra: April Dembosky is a health correspondent for KQED.
April Dembosky: She had taken classes in computer science there. Then she switched over to health, became very interested in that.
I’laysia Vital: I really like school. I like learning. I feel like my favorite hobby to do is learning something new and especially learning about the body. So I feel like.
April Dembosky: She wants to study kinesiology in college. She’s really into sports and wants to become an athletic trainer.
I’laysia Vital: I plan on starting to like go from high school level sports and then doing like the high school and like the private schools, then working my way up to like minor league. And then hopefully in the future I would be working for the big like NFL. That’s where I really want to go. Is the NFL all the way to the tippy top within like, like ten years?
Ericka Cruz Guevarra: When she was looking at colleges, what what was she looking for?
April Dembosky: Well, last fall, her school organized a tour of historically black colleges and universities in the South. And she loved.
I’laysia Vital: It. I’ve always wanted to go to a colleges HBCU. I feel like it’s really just motivation and stuff to go see, like all black people thriving there.
April Dembosky: So when she visited TSU, in particular at Texas Southern University, she really fell in love with it.
I’laysia Vital: Toward Grambling I toward Southern Eye, toward Dillard. And I feel like TCU really spoke out because I liked how modern it was was a really big school. I like Houston just period I just like the city. So I feel like that was connected to me more.
April Dembosky: Plus, her grandparents live in Texas and she loved the idea of living near them.
I’laysia Vital: I wanted to go back there and like meet all my cousins and even see my grandma, my grandpa all the time because I’m like really close with them, but they live really far.
April Dembosky: So she applied to TSU and she got accepted and she’s about to move there this month.
I’laysia Vital: It’s like I’m excited for like my first day, really, and me moving all the way and then I get to decorate my dorm and decorate my stuff. So yeah, I’m excited about that.
Ericka Cruz Guevarra: Yeah. I mean, I feel like when you’re thinking about going to college, you are thinking about those practical things, like, do I have family nearby if I’m going to move far away or can I afford this? What major do I want to I see myself here. But when did I Leisa first start to realize that moving from California to Texas would mean going somewhere with actually fewer reproductive rights?
April Dembosky: Last summer, the Supreme Court overturned Roe v Wade, and that got rid of the constitutional right to abortion that had been in place for 50 years. It left the decision to states. And after that happened, Ilesha started hearing about protests either here in the Bay Area locally or on social media.
I’laysia Vital: And I’ve seen people going to like the Planned Parenthood or to the clinics and being shut out or being like there’s protesters in front.
Protester Of and anybody that tells you your idea to have an abortion. It’s a stand against God.
I’laysia Vital: And they’re honking or like, pushing stuff like pushing people. And there was like, fights and stuff in the streets. I feel like it really brought to my attention that that was happening in a lot of states, like in the South. And that’s where I want to go anyway. So I think I kind of like did more research.
April Dembosky: A lot of us when we are looking for college, sometimes we’re looking for something really different from what we’ve known. I think I leisure was really attracted to those things and then didn’t realize that she was going to have to make some trade offs. Texas is one of the first states to ban abortion after the Supreme Court decision. There are more than a dozen states that ban the procedure now and more that restrict access. And so that’s what got Ilesha thinking. Maybe I need to prepare for this.
I’laysia Vital: Even like I said, I’ll take type before. When I’ve seen that grown ticked up. I feel like it really like show like it was a reality check that I really need to like get on top of it before I go because I know I’m going there first and I already have a lot of resources here in my high school.
April Dembosky: So she went to the clinic at her school for something they’re doing there this year called the senior sendoff appointment.
Ericka Cruz Guevarra: When I’laysia and other Oakland Tech students need medical help, they often go to a place called the Technique Clinic. It’s this small purple building right on campus run by a nonprofit called La Clinica de La Raza. Students can go to the clinic between classes for everything from AI appointments to STD tests, and they don’t have to tell their parents or use their insurance plan either. There are about 300 school based clinics like this one all over the state. And April was able to shadow the staff there for a day to see how they helped the students. Can you introduce me to Aaron Cramer and tell me a little bit about what she does?
April Dembosky: Arin Kramer is a nurse practitioner at the tech clinic.
Arin Kramer: And I’ve been working in adolescent medicine and school based health for about 15 years. And at the clinic.
April Dembosky: You know, when she is doing her job, she’s not just thinking about the medical care she gives or solving the health mysteries that are in front of her. But she’s thinking really holistically about her patients.
Arin Kramer: These are kids that are like on the precipice of the rest of like of a whole new world. They’re about to become adults. They’re learning how they’re learning about their own bodies. They want to be autonomous. They want to be empowered.
April Dembosky: I followed her around for a day and, you know, a couple of patients that she was supposed to see that day canceled in the morning. And so she called them up.
Arin Kramer: This is Arin, the nurse practitioner from the tech clinic. Just came in your call this morning. Sorry to call you so early.
April Dembosky: And it turns out the student really did want to come in for her appointment, that she just couldn’t get a ride. And then she sends an Uber to pick the student up and bring her to the clinic if you want.
Arin Kramer: The other option is we do have a service that like an Uber service that can help you get to clinic if they have insurance. April Dembosky: So you can see all of these ways in which Nurse Kramer is trying to meet students where they’re at.
Arin Kramer: All right, All right. Talk soon. Bye bye.
April Dembosky: But it seems pretty common for late people to canceled. But then does the follow up actually kind of…is that a helpful nudge?
Arin Kramer: Yes.
Ericka Cruz Guevarra: Well, I mean it sounds like Arin has a pretty close eye and ear towards like what students need. So I’m curious how she has started to sort of see the needs of her students shifting since the end of Roe v Wade.
April Dembosky: They have become a lot more proactive. So if you remember Roe v Wade, the decision to overturn it was at the end of June last year. And so, you know, students that year had already graduated. Most had already been moving on. And then, of course, in the wake is when we saw states starting to pass their own state laws banning or restricting access to the procedure.
Arin Kramer: We’ve seen new changes in Georgia and other other states. So a lot of a lot of these things are just changing really dynamically.
April Dembosky: So this is really the first year that the nurses have really been incorporating this new legal landscape into the medical care that they provide.
Arin Kramer: I had a patient recently who moved to Texas and did still it felt really worried about her access to getting prescriptions for the patch. So she we were able to dispense a year’s supply of the patch and she brought that with her to Texas.
Ericka Cruz Guevarra: And I know I’laysia is one of these patients, someone who is feeling nervous about going to Texas and, you know, realizing sort of the roadblocks ahead in terms of reproductive health for her. I’m curious, April, if we have a sense of how common that is. This experience is like are there a lot of students going to conservative states for college and then sort of realizing that there will be these serious roadblocks when they get there?
April Dembosky: The nurses and the staff at the clinic have seen enough students who are headed to southern states that they have set up this senior sendoff appointment.
Arin Kramer: A lot of the students, some of the students we talked to today really want to go to historically black colleges and universities and and have that incredible community experience. And to be in a state where they’re not supported with their reproductive health feels scary.
April Dembosky: They formalized this appointment where they want to talk to patients and make sure that they’re aware of the legal landscapes that they’re moving into. So they are proactively reaching out to seniors who are graduating, finding out where they’re going to college, where you’re thinking of going to college, and then taking the appropriate steps from there.
Ericka Cruz Guevarra: Let’s talk more about these senior sendoff appointments at the Technic Clinic. I know Erin and I’laysia were actually kind enough to let you sit in on Iglesias appointment. What did they talk about?
April Dembosky: They talked about life.
I’laysia Vital: So yeah. And I recently got accepted into TSU in Texas. So, yeah, I’m glad we have this one because I’m going straight to Texas. You are? Yeah. I think we start August 27.
April Dembosky: I’laysia Vital had just had a birthday.
I’laysia Vital: Me and my friends, we went to, like, party, like at Airbnb, and then we had, like, food there and they had a hot tub and, like, ping pong tables and stuff. So that’s all we did was. Yeah.
Arin Kramer: Who planned to that thing?
I’laysia Vital: My mom.
Arin Kramer: Oh, my God. You do have the best mom.
I’laysia Vital: Yeah.
April Dembosky: She asked her about her general health.
Arin Kramer: Um, sleeping okay at night?
I’laysia Vital: Yeah.
Arin Kramer: Okay.
April Dembosky: But then when it came time to talk about their birth control options, Nurse Kramer asked Alicia, So who are you talking to these days? And that is adolescent speak for who are you having sex with?
Arin Kramer: All right. And tell me, who are you talking to these days?
I’laysia Vital: Uh, same person. Yeah.
Arin Kramer: Off and on forever and ever. Can you remind me his name?
April Dembosky: And Nurse Kramer knows that this is how teenagers talk to each other about this kind of thing. And so for her, it’s a way of building trust and meeting students where they’re at and hopefully having an open, honest conversation. And then they talked a lot about different birth control options.
Arin Kramer: And tell me a little bit about what you’re thinking in terms of birth control.
I’laysia Vital: I was looking at the the multiple choices and I’ve seen the the parent guard, the IUD one. Yeah. And I was like talking about that. I think the other.
April Dembosky: Kramer has a poster on the wall of the exam room that has, you know, little pictures or images of all the different birth control methods. And she would point to them and explain how each one worked. So Alecia was pretty clear that she didn’t want to rely on birth control pills or patches.
I’laysia Vital: Because I’m very forgetful. Even if I set my alarm or write it down, it’s still slipped my mind. So I think that.
April Dembosky: They talked about other long acting options. So they talked a lot about IUDs. These are tiny devices that get inserted into the uterus and they are very effective at preventing pregnancy. I. Liza wasn’t quite down with that. She didn’t quite like the sound of that. But she had had a hormonal implant before. And this is a tiny rod that gets inserted into the upper arm. And she was thinking about getting that again.
I’laysia Vital: I think I want to go back to the implant, the next implant, because it’s more it fits in my age range, I think, and I feel like it’s not like like a drastic change, but I just feel like I’d rather have something like it’s permanent but might not all the way permanent.
April Dembosky: She ultimately decided to go with the implant again, which is good for up to five years, that she would never have to think about it.
Arin Kramer: And after you sign this than I might have, you just step out of the room for a second. We’ll set up the room, and then we’ll do it. Okay. 5 minutes. Okay. Other questions?
I’laysia Vital: No, I think you covered everything.
Arin Kramer: Awesome.
Ericka Cruz Guevarra: Well, April, how much can this clinic help students once they’ve actually left the state? Like, would Alysha, for example, be able to, like, call Erin up while she’s in Texas?
April Dembosky: I’laysia can certainly call Arin up and Arin is very proactive about explaining to students we’re still here. They’re allowed to see their patients up until they’re 21. So any time that I Leisa came back home to visit her parents, for example, if she was there for break or over the summer, she’s more than welcome to come in to the technical clinic and get all the range of services for free. Nurse Cramer can write prescriptions, and if I Leisa comes back and says, you know, I don’t really like the implant, I want something else. Aaron will work with her to come up with something else. What’s less clear is we’re in this very strange time right now with each state codifying different laws. People, as we now know, are not just going to stay in one place. And so how these laws interact with each other when people cross state borders. There’s just so many questions around that. So Nurse Cramer herself wasn’t totally clear on whether she would be allowed to say write a prescription for a birth control method for Aleisha to pick up in Texas. There are just different kinds of rules around health care providers and what they’re allowed to do for people in other states when it comes to abortion services, that’s also unclear. There’s lots of talk right now about someone who’s a resident of Texas coming to a place like California for abortion care. The state of Texas says they have the right to sue the doctor in California who provided care to the Texas resident. California says, no, we have laws that protect doctors. So I think some of these things are it’s going to take time to see how they’re all going to play out.
Ericka Cruz Guevarra: In the end, April, I mean, going to college is supposed to be a really exciting time. What is I Leisa looking forward to the most about leaving the nest and also going to her dream school Texas southern.
April Dembosky: Yeah. Like a lot of college bound teenagers, she’s thinking a lot about how she’s going to decorate her dorm room. Her twin sister is coming with her. They plan to bunk together, so they’re working out what kind of color scheme they’re going to go with. But Alisha is also really excited about college things, being independent, you know, moving on her own steam, going to classes, being on her own.
I’laysia Vital: It’s more adult than high school, like high schools like adult. But college is really, though, you’re not with your peers, especially if you like, leave and go to a different school, not in your hometown. So I’m really excited for the growing up part of it.
Ericka Cruz Guevarra: April, thank you so much for sharing your reporting with us and joining us on the show. I appreciate it.
April Dembosky: Happy to do it.
Ericka Cruz Guevarra: That was April Dembosy, a health correspondent for KQED. This 30 minute conversation with April was cut down and edited by producer Maria Esquinca. Allen Montecillo is our senior editor. He scored this episode and added all the tape. If you liked this episode, consider sharing it with a friend. Word of mouth is one of the best ways to help our show. I’m Ericka Cruz Guevara. Thank you for listening to the bay. Talk to you next time.
