Why College-Age Women Are at Highest Risk

September 1, 2010

Dear Feminists for Life

Recently Students for Life of America called attention to abortion coverage in the student health care plan at University of North Carolina.

Sadly, from my many letters and our publications over the years, Feminists for Life members already know that this situation is not unique. In fact, it is all too common on campuses throughout the U.S.

The issue is not just the school's insurance coverage. Abortion is covered through many health care plans provided by employers. So students who remain on their parents' health insurance most likely have abortion coverage as well.

It is also common for students to have no maternity coverage in their health insurance.

"I do not know about health care for pregnant and parenting students on my campus. The health plan at my college covers abortion." --Perception Is Reality student participant, 2007

Feminists for Life has long advocated meaningful solutions to support life. Consider the situation of my friend, a young woman from Texas, who called me when she found out that she was pregnant. Her father's plan did not include maternity coverage for his children!

As you may know, the new health care reform legislation makes it possible for children to stay on their parents' health insurance plans until they are 26. Some expectant parents will discover--just like that young mother from Texas--that their parents' health care plan doesn't provide maternity coverage.

Unlike my friend, their desperation may very well drive them to abortion.

These expectant parents need to know that, thanks to your support, FFL has helpful tools right now for pregnant women.

We have advocated for coverage for working class women and their children.

We are also leading the way to transform college campuses, urging them to focus on practical solutions. But the transformation won't happen fast enough for many students who will become pregnant this year.

Many women do not use health insurance funds to pay for their abortions. But because many campuses lack the resources to support pregnant women--including birthparents--and because they don't see other parents on campus, many women feel forced to choose between having an abortion or to dropping out of school.

I keep asking myself, how can people be pro-life without advocating for the resources needed to support life?

How can people be pro-choice without supporting the resources that make choices possible, including marital, partnered, single parenting, guardianship, and adoption options?

Meanwhile, clinics that provide abortions are ready for the business the new school year will bring. As pro-woman, pro-life activists go back to school, FFL must be ready, too.

We need your help to convey our message that Women Deserve Better^® than Abortion and work towards lasting change by providing resources and support for pregnant women, birthparents, parents who are still in school, and women in the workplace. Our student leaders need our materials, our dynamic speakers, our experienced event moderators, and our practical assistance to transform their campuses.

These materials and program components are free to pro-woman, pro-life students groups, but they aren't free for us--especially when you see the quality of FFL's work, including "Raising Kids on a Shoestring" or our new "Voices of Our Feminist Foremothers" brochure, which supporters and dues-paying members receive with their annual contribution.

Student leaders are depending on us to help them change their campuses so that no woman feels driven to abortion.

I am counting on you to continue to transform society towards woman-centered solutions. Our College Outreach Program Coordinator Chaunie Brusie is offering FREE "Grow Your Group" kits, containing FFL materials proven to change hearts and minds, to over a THOUSAND pro-life activists on campuses across the United States!

Chaunie has also just announced that we have:

• a new sample pregnancy support guide for student groups or schools to use as they develop their own on-campus resources;
• a new website template for pro-woman, pro-life student groups to catalog all pregnancy and parenting resources on and off campus (many school websites and handbooks contain no mention of these services, and ideally they will use our website template, too!); and
• start-up materials for free babysitting services to support parents on campus.

We can only offer help to over 1,000 activists because we are confident in you, our supporters. You have a track record of helping FFL get student activists the materials they need.

Please, help us help these student leaders. So many of them have faced terrible repercussions on their campus--sometimes facing conflict with friends or even the school administration itself--yet they still courageously stand up for women and children. Whether you can afford $35, $100, or $1,000, we need you to help us, and do it right away.

Thank you for always demonstrating your support for student activists in a tangible way, providing hope for the future.

Because women deserve better,
Serrin M. Foster
President