By Cat Thoreson
Unplanned pregnancy is not an uncommon occurrence, especially among today’s adolescents. According to the Alan Guttmacher Institute (AGI), of the nearly 468,988 babies born to teenage mothers each year, 85 percent are unintended.
It is not surprising to find that most of these unplanned pregnancies result in either the women dropping out of school to care for their children or in abortions because the stigma that surrounds teen pregnancy is too much for one to handle or the responsibility of having a baby is too great.
According to a study conducted by AGI, 71 percent of 18 to 19 year olds and 58 percent of 20 to 24 year olds said having a child would interfere with their education or career.
To many, this is no breaking news. In American culture, it is rare to see a mother pursue a degree and raise a child simultaneously. Some lawmakers are seeking to prove to young women that the task is not impossible.
On Feb. 15, Reps. Marcy Kaptur (D-Ohio) and Sue Myrick (R-N.C.), introduced the Elizabeth Cady Stanton Pregnant and Parenting Student Services Act of 2007.
“This bill encourages colleges and universities to provide pregnant students with much needed pre-natal and parenting resources,” Myrick said. “We have a responsibility as a society to make sure that women facing an unexpected pregnancy have access to support services so they can make informed decisions.”
The legislation, if passed into law, would establish a pilot program to provide up to $10 million in grants to encouraging 200 colleges and universities to organize and run a pregnant and parenting student services office. The on-campus office would assist parenting students, prospective student parents (those either pregnant or awaiting an adoption) and students who are placing or have placed their child up for adoption.
The bill mandates that once an office is established, it must provide the following services: student health care that includes maternity coverage, the option of family housing, the option of on-campus child care, flexible or alternative academic scheduling, education about both good parenting and healthy marriages and access to resources for both the mother and child, such as maternity and baby clothing and baby food.
At present, the University does not have a program that would assist pregnant women while attending school.
Collin Stabler, a junior biomedical engineering major, said that the legislation, if passed, would let women know that there is help available on campus.
“The on-campus offices proposed in the legislation would definitely help to keep women in school; they would have access to pretty much everything they need to make both school and raising a child possible,” Stabler said.
Although freshman Courtney O’Connor found the proposed legislation to be a step in the right direction, she did not think that it would be effective. “There will still be that pressure of having a baby and I think that stress is what drives most young mothers out of school,” O’Connor said.
This legislation is not the first of its kind. The Elizabeth Cady Stanton Pregnant and Parenting Student Services Act of 2005 was introduced in November 2005 during a previous session of Congress. Former Senator Elizabeth Dole (R-N.C.) was the first to propose the bill.
But, to the chagrin of Dole, the bill did not go as far as anticipated. The 2005 legislation was only read twice and then referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions. It never went any further, however, because sessions of Congress last two years, and at the end of each session all proposed bills and resolutions that have not passed are cleared from the books.