Pregnant? Don’t come to our school.
The Washington Post reports on Delhi Charter School – a kindergarten through 12th grade school in Louisiana that has recently come under fire for its policy on pregnant students. The pregnancy policy states:
If an administrator or teacher suspects a student is pregnant, a parent conference will be held. The school reserves the right to require any female student to take a pregnancy test to confirm whether or not the suspected student is in fact pregnant.
If a student refuses to take a pregnancy test, the school assumes she is pregnant. Pregnant students must continue their studies from home. There is no comparable policy for male students who get female students pregnant.
The ACLU has threatened to sue the school, pointing out that such a policy is in violation of federal laws against sex discrimination. Some of the school’s board members have stated that they are reviewing the policy. The ACLU is hopeful that the school will see the need to change the policy.
Many women choose abortion because they feel they lack the resources to raise the child. Greatly stigmatizing pregnancy, as this policy does, only exacerbates the problem. Hopefully we will read about the policy’s suspension soon.
I would find this more palatable if there were a way to test the boys for unwed fatherhood as well. A vow of celibacy for schoolchildren would be great if it could be enfoced on both sexes.
I went to a private Catholic all-girls school and they specifically had a policy of supporting pregnant students. What excuse do these people have?
Yeah, this is a huge shame and a step backward.
Given the media attention, public outcry, and threat of lawsuit, hopefully this policy will be quickly repelled.
I'm the mother of a 7 month old son and I know how difficult it is to be pregnant, even with a wanted pregnancy and support of family/friends. I can't imagine the difficulty without such support.
I've volunteered for an organization that helps post-abortion woman. One thing that I've heard several women say is that if they had support and love from even ONE person, that would have made all the difference in the world.
Kay, would you be interested in writing a guest blog post about your experiences with these women? I think that would be an great perspective to hear. If you're interested, please email us at info@secularprolife.org
M, I would be honored to write a guest blog. Will be in touch 🙂