Why Should Women Have to Choose 
Between a Child and an Education?

In pursuing its goal of building a residential maternity program for college-aged women, Room at the Inn is meeting a significant unmet need in the greater Charlotte community and throughout North and South Carolina.  The urgency of that need is clearly shown by the following:

Pregnant Women Who are College-Aged / Educated are at a Very High Risk of Having Abortions¹

• Up to 71% of women said they had an abortion because having a child would interfere with their education or career. 
• 49% of women who have abortions are between the ages of 15 and 24.  The abortion rate is the highest for women between the ages of 20 and 24.
•  53% of women who have abortions have at least some college education.
•  34% of women having abortions were students or those planning to study.
•  Abortion rates are highest among women who are either 18-24, black, Hispanic or low-income.  Women below the federal poverty level have abortion rates almost four times those of higher-income women. 
• 86% of women who have abortions are unmarried.

Because College Education is Essential for 
Economic Self Sufficiency, it is Critical to 
Help Pregnant Women  Pursue their Education²

•  Unemployment and poverty levels are much lower for college graduates than for high school graduates.  The differences are significantly larger for blacks than for other groups (2.8% unemployment for college graduates compared with 8% for high school graduates).
•  A full-time worker with a college degree earns an average of 62% more than a similar worker with only a high school diploma.  Among black females ages 25-34, the earning disparity is even more pronounced at 70%.
•  34.5% of unmarried women with related children under the age of 18 live in poverty.  This percentage drops dramatically to only 9.5% for college graduates.
• Children of parents with higher levels of education are better prepared for school and are more involved in all types of extracurricular activities than other children.

Recent Legislation in Congress Points to the Lack of Resources Available to Women who Become Pregnant Before or During College - Even in Our Own Backyard³

• In 2007, Representatives Marcy Kaptur (D-OH) and Sue Myrick (R-NC) introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives, and Senators Ben Nelson (D-NE) and Elizabeth Dole (R-NC) introduced in the U.S. Senate, legislation to provide funds to institutions of higher education for the purpose of serving parenting students and students who are pregnant.
•  None of the colleges or universities in greater Charlotte offer housing for students with infants or families.  New mothers must leave the dorms and find alternative housing on the day they gave birth.
•  None of the colleges or universities in greater Charlotte offer on-campus day care or assistance with the child during class times.

A Recent Study of U.S. Colleges Shows that
 Students See Little to No Resources for 
Pregnant and Parenting Students

• Feminists for Life polled 400 US Colleges to find out what resources they have for students who become pregnant or have a baby.  The results show that a vast majority of respondents could find very little.
• See the full report here.