U.S. Senators Elizabeth Dole and Ben Nelson
Celebrate Women’s History Month by
Introducing Pro-Woman, Pro-Education Legislation

Feminists for Life College Outreach Program Inspires Legislation

Washington, D.C., March 19, 2007 __ Senators Elizabeth Dole, R-N.C., and Ben Nelson, D-Neb., introduced the Elizabeth Cady Stanton Pregnant and Parenting Student Services Act of 2007 today to help pregnant and parenting college students continue their educations.

The bill is named for the famous suffragist, mother of the women’s movement and advocate for women’s education, and is modeled on a program Feminists for Life initiated on college campuses in 1997.

“This legislation supports women who wish to be both students and mothers,” said Sen. Nelson. “By fostering a parent-friendly environment in our nation’s universities, we can help these students who have made the decision to balance parenthood and education.”

“Pregnancy and child rearing can be overwhelming, particularly when coupled with the pressures of being a student,” said Sen. Dole. “Whether they are married or single, mothers or fathers, we need to do our part to support these students and provide them with options that allow them to be a parent and still graduate from college.”

The bipartisan Senate bill, if passed into law, would establish a pilot program to provide up to $10 million in grants to encourage institutions of higher education to establish and operate a pregnant and parenting student services office. The on-campus office would serve parenting students, prospective student parents who are pregnant or imminently anticipating an adoption, and students who are placing or have placed a child for adoption.

Legislation with the same name was introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives by Representatives Marcy Kaptur, D-Ohio, and Sue Myrick, R-N.C., in February.

“I am grateful to all the sponsors, Representatives Kaptur and Myrick and Senators Dole and Nelson, for helping us to realize the unfulfilled vision of Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Susan B. Anthony and their contemporaries,” said Feminists for Life President Serrin Foster.

Feminists for Life's ground-breaking Pregnancy Resource Forums^®, begun at Georgetown University in 1997, served as the model for the Elizabeth Cady Stanton legislation. Through working at Georgetown, FFL learned the value of a central office and annual forums.

Feminists for Life’s most recent Pregnancy Resource Forums^® were hosted during Women’s History Month by Sally Winn at DePauw University and Creighton University and by Serrin Foster at Boston College. Foster will be moderating the upcoming Pregnancy Resource Forums^® at George Washington University and the annual Georgetown University Pregnancy Resource Forum^®. Foster moderated the first-ever forum at Georgetown ten years ago.

Established in 1972, Feminists for Life of America is a nonsectarian, nonpartisan, grassroots organization that supports practical resources, support, and holistic, woman-centered solutions for pregnant women and parents.