SFLA Launching Re-Branded Pregnant on Campus Program as Standing With You

PROBLEM: Students for Life of America Releases Poll Showing that Millennials and Gen Z Largely Uninformed About Those Standing Ready to Assist Pregnant and Parenting Students 
 
SOLUTION: SFLA Launching Re-Branded Pregnant on Campus Program as STANDING WITH YOU
 
“As we work daily in all 50 states, our Students for Life team deals with an education deficit as young women just don’t know that many on their campus and in their community are ready to help,” said SFLA’s Kristan Hawkins. “When you consider that 1 in 5 college and university students are pregnant and parenting, that’s too many people who may need our help and don’t know what’s available.” 
 
WASHINGTON D.C.  (02-10-2021) – Students for Life of America President Kristan Hawkins today released poll data that illustrates the needs for SFLA’s unique on-campus programming. “Only one in three Millennials and Gen Z could even name a service for pregnant and parenting students,” Hawkins noted. “Our goal is to ensure that in years to come, students turn to Students for Life of America’s Standing With You initiative to find the help they need.”  
 
This month, SFLA is rebranding it’s Pregnant on Campus Initiative to Standing With You to close the gap between Title IX rights and resources and pregnant and parenting students in need of support, launching a new website as a resource for women in crisis on college campuses and new outreach to schools and community organizations who are available to serve women in need.  
 
“We expect Standing With You to be an on-campus leader, setting the stage for campuses and communities to exemplify women’s empowerment through the resources they provide to pregnant and parenting students,” said National Supportive Services Director Camille Cisneros. “These key resources include free to low-cost on-campus childcare, family or non-traditional housing options, education and enforcement of Title IX specific to pregnancy, life-affirming options and community resources in campus health care centers, and on-campus resources like lactation rooms, maternity parking, diaper changing stations, and family study rooms, and our StandingwithYou.org website lists all of them.” 
 
Title IX has existed since 1972 to provide women with protection against discrimination, yet enforcement has been lacking, or even non-existent, when it comes to pregnant and parenting students. Students for Life’s initiative works to empower women on campus by giving them equal access to education and connect them with support within the community. Through Standing With You projects, pregnant and parenting students will know that they have rights and resources on and off campus to help them achieve their scholastic goals while moving forward in their pregnancies.  
 
As SFLA’s poll indicates, there is a tremendous need for the program. Consider the following findings: 
 
ONLY ONE IN THREE COULD NAME ANY SUPPORTIVE SERVICES FOR MOMS: Asked, “If a high school or college student you knew was pregnant or had a young child, would you be able to name at least one federal, state, or local resource to help them remain in school while being a parent or continuing their pregnancy?”, only 36% said they could name any services, with 36% saying they could not offer a friend any information and the final third unsure. Asked to name those services, Millennials and Gen Z answers were as varied as advising their friend to search the internet, to hire a babysitter, or to consider abortion.

MORE THAN 4 OUT OF 10 COULD NOT REMEMBER EVEN SEEING ANY RESOURCES FOR PREGNANT AND PARENTING STUDENTS WHILE IN SCHOOL: 42% of Millennials and Gen Z said they had not seen any materials advertising help to young and expectant moms in college or high school. While 45% said they had seen something, there were some significant gaps. Only 2 of 10 saw some information in high school and college, while 12% said they saw resources mentioned in either high school or college only, and 12% could not remember anything at all. Educators, legislators and the pro-life movement have a huge challenge in simply educating new and expectant mothers about the support available to them other than abortion. 

LESS THAN 2 IN 10 KNEW ABOUT THEIR TITLE IX RIGHTS THAT PROTECT PREGNANT AND PARENTING MOMS AT SCHOOL. Only 17% were familiar with what SFLA calls THE PREGNANT AND PARENTING BILL OF RIGHTS and knew that their federally protected rights means that schools are required to:  
Protect from harassment based on pregnancy 
Allow students to continue to participate in classes and extracurricular activities 
Prohibit schools from taking away scholarships and financial aid 
Offer the opportunity to make up any missed schoolwork due to pregnancy 
Excuse any absences due to pregnancy 
Prohibit schools from removing student athletes from their sports programs due to pregnancy 
 
HUGE AGREEMENT: MORE THAN 7 OF 10 SUPPORT FEDERALLY FUNDED PAID LEAVE FOR NEW MOTHERS AND FATHERS. But they were also open to other funding options, such as setting up paid leave policy for parents, paid for with the parent’s own Social Security taxes.  

And 65 % said they would favor candidates who address paid leave for young families. The poll found that Millennials and Gen Z will accept a number of nuanced policy positions and don’t have strong party affiliation. Therefore, their votes are up for grabs depending on the issues, with 36 % labeling themselves Democrats, 34% Independent and 30% Republican. In fact, 31 % called themselves Conservative while 31% called themselves liberal.  

ALMOST 6 IN 10 SUPPORT ADOPTION REFORMS THAT WILL EXPAND THE POOL OF PEOPLE WHO CAN ASSIST IN HOME STUDIES. Currently, home studies for foster care and adoptive parents are conducted by social workers. There is often a long wait for such studies to be held. Students for Life of America/SFLAction has championed legislation that would allow career public servants (including retired teachers, police officers, and firefighters) to conduct home studies that are typically only done by social workers. The goal is for qualified, trained people who have been vetted to be allowed to handle the backlog of cases and ensure that potential homes are properly and promptly evaluated by people who are qualified to assist children get into good, safe homes.  
 
“In Standing With You, Students for Life is ready to begin a new chapter of supportive services for mothers and their children, born and preborn, building on the already amazing track record established by the Pregnant on Campus initiative,” said Hawkins.  
 
Over the course of the 2019-2020 school year, Students for Life’s Pregnant on Campus initiative collected over 418,500 diapers as well as other items like clothes, bottles, and much more; hosted 243 baby drives on high school and college campuses; raised more than $100,000 for pregnant and parenting students, including more than $41,940 for student scholarships; reported 1,812 hours volunteering; equipped 51 Students for Life groups to work with their school administrators to bring these resources directly to their campuses. The Pregnant on Campus initiative also helped 22 women considering abortion choose life fortheir children and their dreams.  
 
Take a look at the stories of two women whose lives were changed by the program. Ruth’s Story: Video of a Life Saved and a Life Changed … “Having Eli has empowered me.” Veronica’s Story … “You’re going to carry this baby in your arms or in your heart.”  
 
For interviews, contact Kristi Hamrick at [email protected]. 
 
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Students for Life Action (SFLAction) is the 501c4 sister organization of Students for Life of America (SFLA), the nation’s largest, pro-life, student organization with more than 1,240 groups on middle, high school, and university campuses in all 50 states. Students for Life has more conversations with those most targeted by the abortion industry every day, week, and year than any other pro-life outreach in the world and mobilizes the Pro-Life Generation to confront abortion at the local, state and national levels daily. Every week, Students for Life entities reach more than 2 million people across social media platforms to have nearly 200,000 digital conversations with the most engaged pro-life online audience in the world.   
 
Students for Life of America (SFLA) is the nation’s largest, pro-life, youth organization. Headquartered in Fredericksburg, VA, SFLA serves more than 1,240 groups on college and university, middle and high school, medical and law school campuses in all 50 states. Student pro-life organizations work to confront policies on their campuses to support pregnant and parenting students, to end Planned Parenthood’s relationships with schools and communities, and to change minds of their peers about abortion. SFLA has more conversations with those most targeted by the abortion industry every day, week, and year than any other pro-life organization.