NWLC Says Pregnant Students’ Rights Act Fails to Support Students
WASHINGTON – Today the House voted 217 – 211 to pass the Pregnant Students’ Rights Act (PSRA)—a thinly veiled anti-abortion law that does not address the systemic barriers pregnant students face when furthering their education.
The National Women’s Law Center, along with over 50 advocacy organizations, sent a letter to the House of Representatives opposing this legislation, which seeks to limit students’ reproductive healthcare decisions.
Shiwali Patel, senior director of education justice at the National Women’s Law Center, issued the following statement in response:
“The so-called Pregnant Students’ Rights Act does nothing to meaningfully expand support or resources for pregnant or parenting students. Instead, it is anti-abortion legislation in disguise, and purposefully undermines existing legal protections for pregnant students under Title IX.
“Pregnant and parenting students face incredible obstacles in receiving or furthering their education. Providing students with accessible and affordable childcare, lactation accommodations, flexible attendance or leave, and increasing federal funding to address and prevent discrimination against pregnant students are just a few examples of meaningful support lawmakers could have fought to include in PSRA. Instead, the PSRA directs students to submit complaints to the Department of Education–the same agency the Trump administration has been enthusiastically dismantling and defunding for the past year, with its Office for Civil Rights being particularly targeted.
“Trump and his cronies in Congress purport to support mothers but their alarming pronatalist agenda does nothing to make life easier for families. If there is one thing this administration and its allies in Congress do reliably, it’s lip service and platitudes while life gets harder and more expensive for Americans.”
###
