The UCSF Women's Options Center is a comprehensive and expert abortion practice that provides care for women who seek elective abortion and women who desire termination due to fetal anomalies or maternal health conditions. We provide individual care in a private, supportive, comfortable and respectful setting. Referrals are welcome from both UCSF Medical Center and non-UCSF doctors. Patients also may contact us themselves to make an appointment.
For more information or to make an appointment, please call:
Women's Options Center at (415) 353-7003
The Women's Options Center prides itself on providing high-quality, evidence-based and comprehensive abortion and family planning services. The WOC is known for its ability and expertise in serving high-risk and medically complicated patients. We are also proud to offer several long-term reversible contraceptive methods that patients can choose on the day of their procedure. Many of the birth control options available to women today were evaluation in research trials at the Women's Options Center.
Surgical (Aspiration) Abortion
The Women's Options Center offers pregnancy termination services that are not only medically safe but also available in an environment that is sensitive and compassionate. We offer both first and second trimester abortions to a gestation of 23 weeks and 1 day. Our goal is to make patients comfortable during the procedure and to feel safe and supported. Virtually all aspiration and standard D&E patients receive moderate sedation and analgesia with midazolam and fentanyl in addition to a paracervical block with chloroprocaine and vasopressin.
First-trimester aspiration abortion requires a single half-day visit that includes ultrasound dating, counseling, blood tests, health history and physical exam, procedure and post-operative recovery. Mid- and late second-trimester terminations require two visits to the clinic. The first visit is for the pre-operative evaluation, which includes ultrasound, counseling, health history and physical exam, osmotic dilator placement, and blood tests, followed by the second surgical visit and post-operative recovery.
Medication (Pill) Abortion
Medication abortions are completed with a mifepristone-misoprostol regimen up to nine weeks (63 days) gestation. Patients choosing the medication abortion option also receive ultrasound dating, counseling, and an evaluation by a clinician.
Contraception
Contraceptive methods are offered to all patients at WOC, including oral contraceptives, the OrthoEvra transdermal patch, and the NuvaRing vaginal ring. We also offer several long-term, reversible methods of contraception such as the Depo-Provera contraceptive injection, Mirena (the 5-year IUD), ParaGard (the 10-year IUD) and Implanon (the single stick implant). Counselors provide medically accurate information and assist patients in choosing a method that best meets their fertility goals within the context of their life situation. Method choice is reviewed and confirmed by a clinician.
Our Experts
Our attending physicians are all faculty members of the Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences at the University of California, San Francisco.
Our licensed nursing staff has over 15 years experience providing abortion care. Our nurses are present during and after all phases of the procedure and provide the highest quality of care and support.
The Women's Options Center offers non-judgmental, client-centered counseling. Counselors take time with each patient to describe the components of their visit and conduct health education on contraceptive methods, STIs, and aftercare. Patients are also given the opportunity to discuss any thoughts or feelings that they are having regarding making the decision to have an abortion should they wish to do so. Because the model of counseling is client-centered, counselors at WOC meet the patient "where she is" and provide each patient with the level of support that she desires. Couselors are present during and after the procedure to offer support. Our counselors are bilingual/bicultural in English and Spanish, and interpreters are available for most other languages.
Research
Our research spans many aspects of family planning; developing new contraceptives, improving clinical care in contraception and abortion, understanding and decreasing abortion stigma, and to understanding and improving abortion access and safety in the US and globally.