GUEST POST: Incoming college freshmen should be thinking about what to pack, where to live, and generally preparing for the excitement that the first year of college brings. Unfortunately, many have instead bought the lie that women need access to abortion in order to graduate and achieve a successful career. 

Recent stories have been circulating on the internet of testimonies from rising college freshmen rethinking their college plans after the reversal of Roe v. Wade because of recent state efforts to implement significant protections for the preborn. It is heartbreaking to see that some college students believe this lie.  

According to the pro-abortion Guttmacher Institute, 42% of abortion-minded women are college-age (between the ages of 18 and 24). Surveys also show that most of these women are seeking abortion out of fear. The abortion industry tells women the lie that they are not capable enough to achieve their dreams and raise a child at the same time.  

It is time, however, for college students across America to know the truth: women do not need abortion. 

Abortion hurts women. Abortion leaves women with enduring emotional, mental, and physical pain. The risk of suicide is three times greater for women who aborted than for women who delivered — and of course, the consequence of abortion is death for a preborn child.  

College students need to be aware of the rights available to them if they find themselves in an unexpected pregnancy. Title IX is a federal law that protects pregnant and parenting students on college campuses. This law ensures that faculty provide reasonable accommodations including excused absences and adjusted coursework deadlines that a pregnant student may need for any number of reasons (medical appointments, pregnancy-related sickness, giving birth, etc.).  

There are also 3,000 pregnancy resource centers across America that exist to provide medical help, resources, and tangible support. Pregnant students have access to these centers that offer women FREE and CONFIDENTIAL health services. They provide pregnancy testing, ultrasounds, counseling, clothing for women and babies, post-abortive recovery, help paying medical bills, and assistance getting housing, food, and even a car. (All things you WON’T find walking into a Planned Parenthood.) 

 Standing With You, an initiative of Students for Life of America (SFLA), is an incredible resource available to college students facing pregnancy, ensuring no woman stands alone in a Post-Roe America.  

In contrast, abortion vendors offer zero help to women. There is typically no prior or post-abortion counseling, no follow-up appointment, and no options; women are left to wrestle with any physical or mental complications on their own. Women deserve more than the pain and neglect of abortion. Instead of offering to truly support women, the abortion industry offers to kill her innocent child and leave her alone in the pain and heartache that follows. 

To any college student reading this who believes the lie: you deserve to know the truth about abortion and the better options available. The abortion industry does not care about protecting women’s rights and ensuring safe access to women’s healthcare. They have one motive only and this is to kill innocent human beings, and in the process, get rich and harm women forever.  

To any college student reading this who may be facing an unexpected pregnancy: Take a breath. It is all going to be okay. Your career dreams and goals aren’t over.  You are not alone in your situation, even if you feel like you are. You may not see it now, but the baby inside of you is a living and breathing miracle. The road ahead might be long and hard, but you have support, resources, and a whole community of people who want to love you. You are not alone— other students have walked this path, as well.  

Jessica faced an unplanned pregnancy while studying at Fresno State University. After finding out she was pregnant, she scheduled an appointment at Planned Parenthood. She decided to leave the abortion clinic and choose life for her baby. She graduated with a 4.1 GPA, studied abroad for 11 days, and was one of twenty students accepted into the Speech Pathology Master’s Program. Jessica walked across the stage at graduation with her baby in one arm, and degree in the other. You can, too.  

The reversal of Roe should not scare college students. This is a moment in history to celebrate.