Pregnant Students' Rights Act

Floor Speech

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Ms. FOXX. Mr. Speaker, pursuant to House Resolution 969, I call up the bill (H.R. 6914) to require institutions of higher education to disseminate information on the rights of, and accommodations and resources for, pregnant students, and for other purposes, and ask for its immediate consideration in the House.

The Clerk read the title of the bill.

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Ms. FOXX. 6914.

Mr. Speaker, today, I rise as a mother, a grandmother, and a former college instructor, administrator, and student to support the Pregnant Students' Rights Act.

Mr. Speaker, in debating the tenets of this bill, I keep coming back to the dual mandate that it represents: more educated young women and more healthy babies carried to term.

It reminds me of the two great sources of hope and joy in my personal life, the first of which is education.

I have dedicated my life to helping others get a good education, as I was able to do. A good education is a major element of a good life.

The second great source of hope and joy in my life has been to rear a child. Having children and then grandchildren is the highest calling and truly the ultimate blessing.

Pursuing knowledge and having children: These are two virtues that carry immense social value and should be celebrated. I say should, because as is more often the case, modern society holds them in conflict with one another.

Pregnant students should not be faced with the dilemma that their academic and future success must be sacrificed to an unplanned pregnancy.

Data show carrying a child to term does not have to hinder one's educational journey. As a woman who understands the strength and resilience of other women, I found it unsurprising that student mothers outperformed their childless peers in the classroom.

It is a long-held belief that pregnancy should never be a barrier to a student completing her education. It is a belief enshrined in Title IX, which establishes that universities receiving Federal funds must provide equal opportunities for all students, regardless of pregnancy or parental status.

In order to receive Federal funding, campus classroom and education- related activities, from athletics to scholarships to lab work and more, must allow protections and accommodations for pregnant women. That means coaches cannot remove players, universities cannot revoke scholarships, and teachers cannot penalize absences due to medical reasons related to a pregnancy.

Yet, despite the legal equality for pregnant students established under Title IX, a significant challenge persists to informing women of the rights and the resources at their disposal. No expectant mother should be left in the dark.

The Pregnant Students' Rights Act seeks to bridge the gap between legal protections and practical awareness. It ensures that universities make information regarding pregnant students' rights and protections accessible through handouts, e-mails, and university websites.

This bill comes at a time when the nontraditional college student is becoming the norm. Over 20 percent of college students are parents, many of whom are single mothers. With more people entering college at every station of life, it is critical that we pass the Pregnant Students' Rights Act. All students should know the rights and protections available to them, including young, pregnant women.

Mr. Speaker, I support the Pregnant Students' Rights Act, and I reserve the balance of my time.

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Ms. FOXX. 6914.

Mr. Speaker, I am truly puzzled by the other side and some of the comments that are being made about this bill. It is a simple bill. It is not misleading. It is simply aimed at helping pregnant students get the support and information that they need if they are pursuing their education.

My colleagues on the other side of the aisle used to be pro-women. I don't know what has happened to them, but, as one of my colleagues here said, pro-life is pro-woman. This bill is pro-women and pro-helping women getting an education. At the same time, they can carry their baby to term.

Now, nothing in this bill prevents a college or university from disseminating information about how to deal with pregnancy-related conditions, including miscarriages. We are not telling the colleges and universities everything that they have to say. We are simply saying you have to inform the students of the services available and the accommodations that need to be made.

All of us should have our hearts go out to women who face difficult pregnancies. We have all known them. My own daughter had four very difficult pregnancies.

I am deeply saddened that a woman and her baby face challenges and acknowledge that, for a pregnant student, these instances must be extremely stressful and sorrowful, but the purpose of this legislation is to tackle an issue unique to pregnant students on college campuses.

Some students are not aware of how they can advocate for themselves to balance student life and motherhood. Colleges and universities must provide reasonable accommodations for these students, such as excused absences and opportunities to make up classwork when a student does have to make frequent medical appointments to take care of herself and her baby.

This bill supports pregnant students, and I believe it deserves our support.

Mr. Speaker, again, I am aghast. I am just aghast at how this bill is being characterized. It is being called an extreme piece of legislation.

We want pregnant students to be supported on their campuses and to know that they can be supported. It has nothing to do with criminalizing abortions. It has nothing to do with a nationwide abortion ban.

Our colleagues on the other side of the aisle said something about healthy babies. We need pregnant women to have good resources and good healthcare so they can have healthy babies, but they want what they call comprehensive information to women.

What they mean is they want to encourage women to have abortions. And what is an abortion, Mr. Speaker? It is killing babies.

I have said it on the floor before. The word ``abortion'' sounds so clinical, so clean, but we need to say what it is. It is killing babies up to the point of their birth.

This is not an extreme piece of legislation. It is a sensible piece of legislation, and every person in this body should vote for it if you care about life. If you don't care about life, if all you want to do is destroy life, then vote ``no.''

That is the radical side. We are not the radical people. We know we have a culture of life. We have had a culture of life in this country. I fear it is eroding.

Mr. Speaker, this bill deserves the support of every person, particularly every woman, because we all can appreciate what it would be like to be in this situation and not have support.
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Ms. FOXX. Madam Speaker, may I inquire as to how much time is remaining.

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Ms. FOXX. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Madam Speaker, it is hard for me to believe that some of our colleagues have read this bill with the comments that they are making. It is a 5-page bill, basically. Maybe it takes up 7 pages, but that is mostly blank space.

There is nothing about overreach and control in this bill. Our colleagues are saying: Well, you don't provide healthcare. You don't provide food stamps. You don't provide other things.

Let me remind my colleagues that we are the Education and the Workforce Committee. We are in our lane. We are looking after pregnant students. Our job is to deal with education issues.

As I said in the Rules Committee, our colleagues can go to other committees to do these things. We are doing what we should be doing, which is, again, staying in our lane and helping pregnant students. They should know that if they are here as Members of Congress.

I wholeheartedly reject, also, the claim that this bill rolls back any rights of women. Nor does it put undue pressure on anyone other than college administrators to ensure that students are fully informed of their rights.

The Pregnant Students' Rights Act ensures that colleges and universities provide information about the rights and accommodations a college must directly offer a mother as she navigates pregnancy and being a parent to her child. Pregnant students deserve equal access to continue their postsecondary education.

I do not understand how connecting a student with information is an attack on any rights. Instead, this bill would decrease the likelihood that a student is unaware of her opportunities, unlike today, where students may not receive consistent and timely information.

Nowhere in this bill does it prohibit colleges from disseminating any type of information. Nowhere in this bill does it dictate that the information be one-sided.

Since when did it become popular to attack providing information and resources to a mother for taking care of her baby?

Now, let's talk about one-sidedness, which our colleagues are saying. Colleges have been extremely public in support of abortion. Within minutes of the Supreme Court's decision on Roe v. Wade, ``one-sided'' press releases were published as if the issue had to do with higher education.

Here is the statement of the University of Michigan president: ``I strongly support . . . abortion services, and I will do everything in my power as president to ensure we continue to provide this critically important care.''

That is one shining example of the overt bias coming straight from the top of the university. I don't think anyone can make the claim that universities are not already pushing a one-sided agenda. However, this bill does not tie the hands of colleges from continuing to relay information, but it sure does ensure the student mothers are supported.

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Ms. FOXX. Madam Speaker, I yield myself 30 seconds.

Madam Speaker, so now I am truly confused. Our colleagues have come up one after the other and said that this bill is going to bring the end of the world for the ability for women to gain an abortion, which means killing their babies, and now we are told that this bill does nothing and is a do-nothing bill.

If it is a do-nothing bill, then I certainly hope our colleagues will vote for it because I know they have voted for other do-nothing bills on the floor. Maybe they should think of it as a do-nothing bill and all vote for it.

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Ms. FOXX. Madam Speaker, may I inquire as to the time remaining.

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Ms. FOXX. Madam Speaker, I yield myself 1\1/2\ minutes.

Madam Speaker, this bill is about supporting pregnant students. There are many resources for pregnant students, both on and off campus. This bill would connect students to these important resources. Many are nonprofit organizations, not just government programs.

In particular, I have heard of inspiring and innovative partnerships between colleges and nonprofit organizations to support student mothers.

For example, Belmont Abbey College in Belmont, North Carolina, has an incredible partnership with a noncampus maternity home, MiraVia. At MiraVia's college residence, expectant mothers are welcomed and provided with a place to live free of charge.

Pregnant students receive a private suite, meals, childcare, diapers, baby clothing and supplies, nursery furniture, life skill classes, personalized guidance to identify additional community resources, and coordination of education and career opportunities.

Belmont Abbey College gives pregnant mothers at MiraVia a full scholarship. This is just one example. I am sure many of my colleagues have more examples of support provided by colleges and universities for students and their babies.

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Ms. FOXX. Madam Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, again, our colleagues on the other side of the aisle have characterized this bill as radical, extreme, overreaching, and controlling students. There are so many negative things and then a couple have said, well, it does nothing.

It is sort of confusing. Again, if they have read the five-page bill, they would know that their characterizations of the bill are not at all what it is.

It doesn't do things they say they would like it to do, but that is not our role, Madam Speaker. Our role is to work with students on campuses.

I do think they are really confused about the nature of this bill, and I would encourage anybody watching this to read the bill. The bill, let's be crystal clear, is not about political advocacy. Nothing in this bill prevents a college counselor from discussing the full panoply of options available to pregnant students. Nothing in this bill prevents a pregnant college student from making her own decision.

Rather than political stunts, thanks to a Republican majority, this body is focused on real bills that will have a real effect on the real lives of Americans, particularly pregnant women in college. That is a good thing that we are doing, Madam Speaker.

The Pregnant Students' Rights Act is yet another one of the bills we have focused on in this Republican majority in the House of Representatives.

Madam Speaker, I look forward to its passage. I urge everyone to vote for this bill.

Again, I think if our colleagues on the other side of the aisle care about pregnant women, and particularly pregnant women who are enrolled in college, they would vote for this.

If they don't, then I fear it is an indication that they don't care about women who want to carry their babies to term.

Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Ms. JACKSON LEE. Madam Speaker, I am here today to speak in opposition to the proposed legislation, H.R. 69l4, Pregnant Student's Rights Act.

This bill requires higher education institutions that participate in federal education programs to disseminate information on the rights and resources afforded to prospective, full- and part-time students who are pregnant or may become pregnant to encourage them to carry their pregnancy to term.

These institutions would be required to share this information by email at the start of each academic year, in student handbooks, at each orientation for enrolled students, at student health and counseling centers, and on the school's website.

A list of anti-abortion ``findings'' in the bill insinuate that women who have an abortion are at risk of developing mental health issues, abusing drugs and alcohol, and becoming suicidal.

Amendments in committee offered to make it clear that schools are still allowed to disseminate information on access to sexual and reproductive health services and the rights, protections, and accommodation afforded to students under Title IX, were voted down by Republicans on the Committee.

Additionally, it must be noted that this harmful bill is a futile attempt that will be vetoed by this Administration.

As we know, the Administration strongly opposes H.R. 69l4.

As highlighted in the White House Statement of Administrative Policy (SAP), the Administration clearly stated its opposition to H.R. 69l4 in its current form.

Existing federal civil rights laws have long prohibited discrimination against students on the basis of pregnancy and related conditions, and institutions of higher education are already required to provide reasonable modifications to pregnant students--from modified class schedules to medical leave.

The Administration stated that it will continue taking action to ensure that students know their rights under federal law and have access to the comprehensive, evidence-based information and resources they need to make informed decisions about their health care.

I stand with the Administration in stating that we remain committed to supporting the security, health, and well-being of women and families across the country, and I urge my colleagues on the other side of the aisle to make this commitment as well.

I have long supported pregnant people, especially those who are facing the challenges of being pregnant while being a student.

Many students enrolled at an institution of higher learning face unplanned pregnancies and face pressures of either getting an abortion or face academic failure.

According to national statistics, 1 in 5 college students have children, one of the many identified barriers that can make it difficult for students to complete a certificate or credential.

Most student parents are women and more than 2 in 5 are single mothers.

While teenage birth rates have declined significantly across the country in recent decades, Texas remains above the national average, consistently ranking in the top 10 states.

Out of all births in Texas, around 6 percent were teen births in 2019 and 2020.

And a startling proportion of teenagers who gave birth in Texas in 2020--more than 1 in 6--already had at least one other child.

Texas does not require high schools to teach sex education, and the vast majority that do focus on sexual abstinence.

The state has a complicated maze of requirements for teenagers seeking birth control and is currently operating under the strictest abortion laws in the country.

During this Congress, I have co-sponsored many pieces of legislation that are in support of pregnant people's rights.

Bills that endorse full-term pregnancies, such as the Mommies ACT (H.R. 6004) which seeks improve Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program for low-income mothers, as well as the Perinatal Workforce Act (H.R. 3523) which strives to grow and diversify the perinatal workforce, and for other purposes.

Students currently have insufficient tools to proactively manage their own maternal health and decisions.

For these reasons, namely, to encourage, protect, and support pregnant students across the nation, I am committed to speaking up for the rights of students and pregnant people and confronting the issues that affect them.

I urge my colleagues to vote no on H.R. 69l4 because this bill contradicts our nations long standing fight and advancements in protecting all students and reproductive rights for all Americans.

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