Pregnant Students' Rights Act

Floor Speech

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Ms. JACOBS. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for yielding.

Mr. Speaker, we are just a few days from what would have been the anniversary of Roe v. Wade, so it is sadly predictable that we are here debating a MAGA Republicans' bill that would stigmatize students who parent while in school or who seek abortion care.

Now, I can't help but chuckle at the ridiculous arguments coming from the other side of the aisle, because, while I will admit that my Republican colleagues are good at naming bills, they are not good at caring for parents or kids after they are born.

This so-called Pregnant Students' Rights Act ironically fails to give pregnant students any new rights. It gives them no meaningful information and support like campus childcare, family housing, or nutrition support if they choose to be pregnant or parent while in school.

Instead, it provides a biased slate of options that pushes students to keep their pregnancy and raise a child, with no mention of contraception or that seeking an abortion is a viable and valid choice.

Pregnant and parenting students deserve comprehensive information about their rights and the resources and support they need to thrive at school. What they don't need are lectures about their choices. They don't need obstacles to accessing abortion and the full spectrum of healthcare. They certainly don't need this condescending legislation that is more interested in advancing an anti-abortion agenda than genuinely helping students.

The decisions about keeping pregnancy to term and raising a child are serious, private, and personal. Women denied an abortion are four times more likely to live below the Federal poverty line. They are more likely to be evicted, go bankrupt, or have debt. They are more likely to stay in contact with a violent partner and raise the resulting child alone. Their children's financial well-being and development are more likely to suffer, too.

We shouldn't deprive students of making these informed decisions by withholding their full, comprehensive options. This bill does a disservice to pregnant and parenting students.

Instead, we should focus on strengthening Title IX protections, expanding support systems for families on campus like the CCAMPIS program that has been so successful at UC San Diego, and protecting pregnant students from discrimination.

I have to say that I have been in college more recently than just about anyone here, and I don't remember a single person being pressured into having an abortion.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to reject this bill.

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