Given the pervasiveness of hookup culture on college campuses across the U.S., it should be surprising that pregnant college students are nowhere to be found. Why?
Unfortunately, the answer is obvious: Abortion is readily available in many states, and pregnant college students aren’t choosing life. These mothers don’t even know that it’s an option.
A 2022 study found that 87.6 percent of Planned Parenthood clinics are located within five miles of a college campus. This is not a coincidence. The abortion industry capitalizes on the desperation of mothers who feel they have nowhere else to turn. After all, pregnant college students have their reputations, education, and job prospects on the line.
According to the available data, 38 percent of women who get abortions say that a baby interfering with their education is part of their decision. The pro-choice argument creates a false dichotomy: You can either have the child, or you can follow your dreams. You can either become a mother or complete your education. Regardless of which side of the political aisle you identify with, this is a heavy decision.
But what if these young women were told that they could do both? Better yet, what if we gave pregnant and parenting college students the resources they needed and encouraged them along the way?
Pregnant and Parenting Students Don’t Know Their Rights
Currently, American universities don’t offer or publicize enough resources for pregnant and parenting students. In my experience, colleges spend huge amounts of time and money educating their students on anti-discriminatory policies based on gender or sexual orientation but pay little heed to the policies surrounding pregnancy or parenting status.
And yet, in addition to protecting individuals from sexual harassment and gender-based violence, Title IX mandates that pregnant students are guaranteed reasonable accommodations such as more frequent bathroom breaks, elevator usage, and excused absences. Moreover, they cannot be removed from campus housing, prevented from participating in classes or extracurricular activities, or have scholarships revoked due to their pregnancy. Pro-life organizations such as Students For Life’s “Standing With You” initiative makes communicating these rights to students a priority. Unfortunately, there is still a long way to go.
These rights have never been articulated to me even as I have to complete annual mandatory Title IX training for my university, which is required by most colleges and places of work. I’m willing to bet that the majority of pregnant college women don’t know that these protections are in place. How could they? No one has told them.
American Colleges Fail to Provide for Their Students
The Title IX requirements, although good, are not enough. As of 2019, only 28 percent of colleges surveyed said they require lactation rooms to be available to students. At my own college, the University of Virginia, very few of the women’s bathrooms include changing tables. Even worse, the number of colleges providing childcare for students declined by 14 percentage points from 2004 to 2019. This decline was the most stark at community colleges, which in turn have the highest proportion of parenting students. These colleges have done their students a great disservice by rendering it even more difficult to pursue higher education and raise a family.
It’s not easy to institute policy changes that support young families. I acknowledge that it is expensive to launch childcare programs on college campuses and to provide attendance accommodations for pregnant and parenting students.
To be sure, most colleges would probably prefer that their students get abortions so that they are not held accountable for providing for their students facing crisis pregnancies. This is not acceptable. No inconvenience is so great that it justifies failing to provide for their students. They need support, not abortions.
Policy Changes Are Not Just Helpful—They’re Necessary
Although many progressive figures speak about making higher education more accessible, how many offer alternatives to the false narrative that young women are incapable of being mothers while excelling in their education?
In reality, women are much more likely to choose life when they are uplifted by their community rather than being told that their pregnancy is a curse. If we want to make America pro-life, we need to take concrete actions—such as establishing childcare services and lactation rooms on college campuses—to institute protections and support systems for young mothers in college. We owe it to the unborn.
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