According to a research study by Brown and Amankwaa, pregnant women attending college feel an overwhelming responsibility to their pregnancies though they are often left alone without the support of their partner. The women studied said that providing unconditional love, dealing with the baby’s father, pursing education and finding extra help in childcare were important in their decisions to keep their pregnancies. This is why the Pregnancy Support Act of 2009 would be beneficial to these women and their new families by providing childcare so that the mother will have the ability to pursue higher education, thus have the means to support her family in the future.
Brown, R. L., & Amankwaa, A. A. (2007). College females as mothers: Balancing the roles of student and motherhood. ABNF Journal, 18(1), 25-29. Retrieved March 17, 2009 from CINAHL Plus with Full Text database
The idea of this bill sounds very positive. I think any move to decrease the number of abortions is always a step in the right direction. Plus keeping students from dropping out of college is also a good thing because the chances of a woman going back to school once she has a child are slim. I do think implementing new programs would be very expensive if these programs were to make a statistical difference. What resources and specific programs in particular do you think should be implemented? Where would the money come from that would support the programs introduced by this bill? Would there be programs in every state? Or would only specific areas with high abortion rate be targeted? Also would there be any type of other requirements to get this support, or would every pregnant student get this?
ReplyDeleteSome of the programs already exist but would be extended to more pregnant women and their children, such as SCHIP. The bill also endorses a lot of education to these women, which would be given at facilities that already give education. If passed, this bill will create a standard of patient education on these specific topics (abortion, parenting, etc.). The education would be more extensive and special training may be needed, but overall it would be less expensive than the alternative. If women have the chance to go to college, then she would be more likely to be able to support her child on her own without financial support from the government, and so in the long run it would be cheaper in that way.
ReplyDeleteSince this is a federal bill so it would affect all states. All areas would benefit from these interventions, specially areas with high teen pregnancy rates or high rates of unwanted pregnancies. And as with any governmental aid, there would be requirements for the pregnant women to meet.
For more detailed information about the bill you can check out this website:
http://www.opencongress.org/bill/111-s270/text
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ReplyDeleteI think the proposals set forth in this bill to help mothers have been long awaited. Teen and college aged mothers are often overlooked by society in terms of recieving help and have been made to feel ashamed for "getting themselves into this situation," so they don't seek help either. Young mothers do not know where to turn to recieve assistance and counseling and this bill will help in providing it. I think the most significant aspect of H.R. 605 would be the federal funding for pregnancy prevention education. This, instead of reducing abortion rates should be the main focus. Based on what I have read however, the bill seems to place a very small emphasis on prevention. Wouldn't it be more effective to research this young age group and learn what is the most effective way to communicate and teach them about safe sex? This would prevent many of those pregnancies and subsequent abortions. I wonder in what age group abortions are most prevalent. My guess would be adolescents.
ReplyDeleteTo Raechelle: This bill specifically supports women who are enrolled in High School and College. There is no timeline in the bill that says how long it will support them, but we are assuming based on wording it would be just during the time they are in school.
ReplyDeleteTo Sarah: There has been a lot of research done on safer sex practices within the adolescent age group, but this bill is not directed toward education before conception. It is focused on supporting mothers who have already become pregnant. We do agree though that preventing the pregnancy all together is the best mode of action.