General
Letter to Congress on the Pregnant Students’ Rights Act (January 22, 2026)
The Honorable Ashley Moody
United State Senate
Washington, DC 20510
The Honorable Ashley Hinson
United States House of Representatives
Washington, DC 20515
January 22, 2026
Dear Senator Moody and Congresswoman Hinson:
Peace be with you.
We write in gratitude for your leadership in introducing the Pregnant Students’ Rights Act (S. 3627/ H.R. 6359) and urge your colleagues to pass this commonsense legislation when it comes up for a vote in the coming days.
Pope St. John Paul II called us to “radical solidarity” with vulnerable mothers and babies, preborn and born alike. “A radical solidarity with women requires that the underlying causes which make a child unwanted be addressed.”[1]
Reflecting on this, the bishops have implored Congress to place a high priority on policies that advance the health, safety, and flourishing of women, children, and families: “We continue to exhort our nation to prioritize the well-being of women, children, and families with both material resources and personal accompaniment so that no woman ever feels forced to choose between her future and the life of her child.”
The bishops also offered several policy recommendations. Specifically addressing education, the bishops then wrote “We encourage the development of policies for secondary and higher education that will strengthen pregnant and parenting students’ rights and opportunities to learn and build the life of their dreams, without fear that their child will put their future at risk.”
With this in mind, the bishops have supported the Pregnant Students’ Rights Act. Society and too many colleges and universities can give the impression that having a baby while a student is not only a great challenge but an unsurmountable detriment to women’s lives. Young women who are pregnant may thus feel that they have to choose between their baby or their education and feel pressured to have an abortion.
Many college and university students are unaware of the support available to them if they are pregnant or parenting, and that support can make a difference.
The Pregnant Students’ Rights Act would require colleges and universities to provide information on the rights, resources, accommodations, and services available to pregnant students to help them welcome and parent their child. It would also require that students be informed on how to file a Title IX complaint for discrimination over their choice to carry a child to term.
No woman should ever feel pressured to end the life of her unborn child because she feels abandoned and unsupported. This modest but hopeful legislation will help students to know that they have support and real options available to them.
Thank you again for introducing this legislation. We urge your colleagues to vote yes on the Pregnant Students’ Rights Act.
Sincerely yours in Christ Jesus,
Most Reverend David M. O’Connell, CM, JCD
Bishop of Trenton
Chairman, Committee on Catholic Education
Most Reverend Daniel E. Thomas
Bishop of Toledo
Chairman, Committee on Pro-Life Activities
[1] Pope St. John Paul II, Letter of His Holiness John Paul II to Mrs. Gertrude Mongella, Secretary General of the Fourth World Conference on Women of the United Nations,” no. 7 (1995) at https://www.vatican.va/content/john-paul-ii/en/letters/1995/documents/hf_jp-ii_let_19950526_mongella-pechino.html