Pregnant Students' Rights Act

What is this bill?

• HR 6359, sponsored by Ashley Hinson (R-IA-2)

• S 3627, sponsored by Ashley Moody (R-FL)

This bill would amend section 485 of the Higher Education Act of 1965. This amendment would require any college that participates in any program listed in the Higher Education Act to provide a list of rights and resources for currently pregnant students or students who may become pregnant who wish “to carry the baby to term.”

Required info includes:

• “a list of resources on campus and in the community that exist to help a pregnant student in carrying the baby to term and caring for the baby after birth

• information about the accommodations available to help a pregnant student carry the baby to term and parent the baby after birth

• information on how to file a complaint with the Department of Education and the university if the university violates title IX based on the student deciding to carry their baby to term

Colleges would be required to send an email with this information once per school year, print this info in student handbooks, give the list out at orientation for enrolled students, supply the list at student health or counseling centers, and publish the list on the college’s website.

Note: the House version and Senate version of the bill are the exact same but, as of now, they are getting separate votes in their respective houses.

What makes this bill fascist?

As I stated in the write-up for HR 6945, one of the key goals of fascism is to enforce machismo and force women into ‘traditional gender roles.’ While pregnancy discrimination is a very real thing, the wording of this bill makes it clear that it is more interested in students giving birth than all the other options & potential results of pregnancy. There is no requirement to include links to services on birth control, family planning, plan B, abortion, or, as Rep. Lucy McBath noted during her crushing speech during House debate on the bill, miscarriage. It is a bill with one very clear goal and it is not to ensure that pregnant students are knowledgeable of every option before them.

I recommended this interview for WBUR with professors Anne Wingenter and Erica Chenoweth in the HR 6945 article, but if you haven’t checked it out, please take a listen

Which Dems voted for it?

• House (1 Dem)

  • Henry Cuellar (TX-28)

• Senate

  • No Democrats voted yea for cloture on the motion to proceed

Did this bill pass?

• HR 6359 passed the House on 1/22/26 by a vote of 217-211

• S 3627 failed cloture on the motion to proceed in the Senate on 1/27/26 by a vote of 47-45