Congresswoman Ashley Hinson (R-Iowa) has introduced the Pregnant Students' Rights Act (H.R. 6914), which passed in the House earlier this month on a straight party-line vote (212-207). Under the legislation, institutions of higher education would be required – at the beginning of each period of study – to "disseminate information on the rights of, and accommodations and resources for, pregnant students" via email and orientation packets.
Andy Mangione of the Association of Mature American Citizens Action tells AFN it's a bill his organization fully supports.
"AMAC and AMAC Action are strong supporters of life from conception until natural death," he begins. "And we saw this as an opportunity to support legislation to protect life, particularly with young women."
If passed, Mangione explains, colleges and universities would have to provide female students with information would give them the "confidence of the security to continue their pregnancies full term" without fear of compromising their academic or professional prospects.
"The bill would just let [those students] know that your academic career or anything you were planning on doing after school doesn't go away simply because you become pregnant," he adds.
According to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, almost 30% of all abortions in the U.S. are performed on women of college age, between the ages of 20 and 24. Many of those women fear that giving life to their unborn baby will force them to drop out of school, dimming their prospects for future employment.
The Pregnant Students' Rights Act now awaits action in the U.S. Senate.
