Pregnant Students' Rights Act

Floor Speech

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Ms. ROSS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in opposition to the House Republicans' harmful Pregnant Students' Rights Act.

Make no mistake. This legislation does nothing to protect pregnant students and fails to provide young parents with the real tools they need to succeed, including affordable childcare, affordable housing, and so much more.

Masquerading as an attempt to support pregnant students, this misleading bill is a part of Republicans' dangerous anti-abortion agenda. It would require institutions to distribute limited and even inaccurate resources to students about their existing rights should they choose to carry a pregnancy to term, while omitting information about abortion services, contraception, and while also advancing anti- abortion rhetoric.

Last year, I introduced the Understanding Student Parent Outcomes Act with Congresswoman Lucy McBath. This legislation would take concrete steps to support pregnant and parenting students by requiring the Department of Education to collect critical data on barriers that student parents face to graduating college and providing recommendations and resources to institutions of higher education.

During the committee markup of this egregious bill, Congresswoman McBath highlighted our bill as an alternative solution that will help student parents succeed while recognizing that all women deserve the opportunity to make their own choices about when to start a family free from persuasion from their schools.

I hope my Republican colleagues will see the harm that their legislation will cause and join Democrats in opposing this bill. There are better ways to help our pregnant and parenting students.

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