It’s time that students know the truth.
“College women need abortion to graduate and have a career.”
This is just one of the lies the abortion industry tricks women into believing. It is no secret that the abortion industry targets young, college-age girls. According to the pro-abortion Guttmacher Institute, 42% of abortion-minded women are between the ages of 18 and 24. Statistics show that 74% of abortion-minded women fear that motherhood will interfere with their education or career. 73% feel that they could not afford to care for their child. 48% have concerns about the difficulties of being a single parent.
Instead of offering encouragement, support, and resources, the abortion industry sells the lie that abortion – ending the life of an unborn child – is a woman’s only solution. But now, it’s time students know the truth.
Abortion is not the answer to an unexpected pregnancy.
More than 1 in 5 students face unexpected pregnancies each year. Most of these students are not aware of the resources available to them – on their campus, and in their community. Students deserve to know their rights and options.
Title IX is a federal law that protects pregnant and parenting students on college campuses. Prior to Title IX, which was passed by Congress in 1972, students who became pregnant or had children were commonly mistreated. Since the implementation of Title IX, sex discrimination has been illegal, including discrimination based on pregnancy, childbirth, and parental status.
Here are a few of the protections for pregnant students:
- Pregnant students are allowed to return to the same academic and extracurricular status as before your medical leave began, which includes giving you the opportunity to make up any work missed while you were out.
- Pregnant students cannot have their academic or athletic scholarships withdrawn or face any other form of financial punishment because of their pregnancy.
- Pregnant students are given excused absences due to pregnancy or childbirth for as long as your doctor says it is necessary.
- Instructors must provide reasonable adjustments for pregnant students.
- Instructors may not refuse to allow you to submit work after a deadline you missed because of pregnancy or childbirth. Also, if your teacher’s grading is based in part on class participation or attendance and you missed class because of pregnancy or childbirth, you are allowed to make up the participation or attendance credits you didn’t have the chance to earn.
The truth is that college students can have their baby and graduate. Ending the life of an innocent preborn human being is not the answer to any of the obstacles pregnant students face.
In addition to Title IX rights, pregnant students have access to pregnancy resource centers that offer women free and confidential health services. They provide pregnancy testing, ultrasounds, counseling, clothing for women and babies, post-abortive recovery, help paying medical bills, and assistance getting housing, food, and even a car. In contrast, abortion providers offer only one service: termination of pregnancy. No pre or post abortion counseling, no follow up, no options; women are left to wrestle with any physical or mental complications on their own. Women deserve more than the pain and neglect of abortion.
Women deserve to know the truth – and the truth is that they can have a baby and finish college.
I have seen firsthand how abortion harms women, bringing lifelong heartache and trauma. And I have seen firsthand pregnancy centers help young women graduate, achieve their dreams, and have their baby.
To any college student reading this who may be facing an unexpected pregnancy: Take a breath. It is all going to be okay. Your career dreams and goals aren’t over. You are not alone in your situation, even if you feel like you are. You may not see it now, but the baby inside of you is a living and breathing miracle. The road ahead might be long and hard, but you have support, resources, and a whole community of people who want to love you. Abortion is not the answer.
It’s time that students stop feeling forced to choose between their career and their child, their dreams or their baby. It’s time that students know the truth.
If you are looking for free and confidential pregnancy care, contact Foothills Care Center in Clemson. | 864-882-8796. | 107 Wall Street Suite 2, Clemson, SC 29631 |
