House Republicans are moving forward with a bill Wednesday morning aimed at advancing the rights of pregnant students on college campuses.
The Pregnant Students’ Rights Act is targeted toward students with unplanned pregnancies and would require that schools inform women of the rights and accommodations available to them under Title IX to combat the “pressure that their only option is to receive an abortion or risk academic failure.”
“Simply, this bill operates on the assumption that pregnant women, especially those facing the daunting uncertainty of an unexpected college pregnancy, should know all options available to them to help carry the baby to term,” Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-NC), chairwoman of the House Education and Workforce Committee, told the Washington Examiner. “The goal with any decision during this deeply personal and sensitive time should be to maximize the pregnant mothers’ educational journey while minimizing harm done to her child’s potential future.”
The measure notes that roughly 30% of all abortions in the United States are performed on women around college age, between 20 and 24. The bill looks to enforce rights afforded to pregnant women on campus by requiring schools that receive federal dollars under the Higher Education Act to distribute information to all students attending the school, whether part- or full-time, or planning to attend, about rights and resources afforded to them if they become pregnant.
Some of those resources include accommodations available during pregnancy, such as permission to miss class for prenatal doctor visits and the continuation of scholarships for women who have to take time off to give birth, as well as programs and community resources to help with care for the child once the baby is born. Pregnant students would also be informed of their right to request properly-sized seating and additional restroom and water breaks under the proposed law.
The bill would also require schools to provide guidance on how to file a Title IX complaint against the school if the student believes their rights have been violated.
The bill would require that this information be emailed to all enrolled students at the start of study in an academic year, as well as to make the information accessible through student handbooks, at orientation, and online.
“As for universities, it is their role to foster an environment of support and understanding, where pregnant students feel safe seeking guidance and assistance,” Foxx said. “Too often though, counselors fail to provide pregnant students with a complete picture of all the resources available to them.”
A similar measure was recently signed into law to ensure protections and accommodations for pregnant employees. Although the law passed with bipartisan agreement that its provisions did not include protections for abortion, the Biden administration’s Equal Employment Opportunity Commission injected access to abortion into its administrative rules for enforcing the law.
Many conservatives slammed the EEOC’s rule for implementing the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act as a way to force employers to facilitate abortions because it included the procedure in its interpretation of “pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions,” the latter of which was intended to include lactation, menstruation, and miscarriages, among other related conditions.
A spokesperson for the Education and Workforce Committee told the Washington Examiner that this new measure anticipates a move by the Biden administration to do the same thing, but said the student-focused proposal is “narrowly tailored” to avoid room to expand its protections to abortion access.
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“For pregnant students, the path through college is already a complex one that can be compounded by the responsibility of impending motherhood,” Foxx added. “Physically and emotionally every decision becomes a little more challenging.”
A markup for the bill is set to begin at 10:15 a.m. Eastern.
Healthcare reporter Gabrielle M. Etzel contributed to this report.
