12 Christian colleges remove ties with Planned Parenthood as others increase support: report
While a substantial number of Christian colleges continue to maintain ties with Planned Parenthood, one pro-life organization is celebrating that over a dozen schools have taken action this year to address concerns about their ties to the nation's largest provider of abortions and cross-sex hormones for youth confused about their sex.
The Demetree Institute for Pro-Life Advancement, a project of the pro-life advocacy group Students for Life of America, released a report highlighting the findings of its 2024 Christian Schools Project.
The data for the report is based on research conducted throughout the 2023-2024 academic school year, culminating with outreach to each of the 87 Christian colleges and universities found to have ties to Planned Parenthood.
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"New findings by the Demetree Institute for Pro-Life Advancement uncover the sad reality that Christian schools have steadily increased their support of Planned Parenthood by 10% each year since 2022," the report states.
"An additional investigation into each school's staffing revealed a startling number of professors with individual connections to the abortion industry, hinting at a more insidious problem brewing at Christian schools that suggests their staffing choices do not reflect the foundational values of their institutions. This year's report looks deeper into where exactly so many Christian schools are missing the mark with several factors at play."
The report assigned to each of the 732 Christian colleges a letter grade based on the number of "infractions" it has accumulated through its promotion of or relationship with the abortion provider.
A school without any infractions that also has a relationship with a pro-life pregnancy center received a grade of "A+" while a school without any infractions not determined to have such a relationship received a grade of "A."
The letter grade dropped based on the number of infractions measured, with the lowest possible score of "F" reserved for universities with four or more infractions.
The pro-life advocacy group identified 12 academic institutions that "removed ties to the abortion industry after initial contact with researchers in 2024," which resulted in nine of them seeing their grades increase. Researchers note that 54 connections have been severed since the study began in 2021.
Chaminade University in Hawaii saw its grade increase from a "B" to an "A" after it removed Planned Parenthood from its list of "health and parenting" resources. Felician University in New Jersey also saw its grade increase from a "B" to an "A" for taking a nearly identical action by removing the abortion provider as a "health" resource.
The grades assigned to three additional academic institutions rose from a "B" to an "A" after they took action to address their relationships with Planned Parenthood: High Point University in North Carolina, Rocky Mountain College in Montana and Villanova University in Pennsylvania.
High Point "removed an honoree tied to Planned Parenthood," while Rocky Mountain College eliminated Planned Parenthood as an internship opportunity. Villanova removed the abortion provider as a "Graduate School health resource."
Initially assigned a grade of "C," the University of Indianapolis in Indiana saw its grade increase to a "B" after removing Planned Parenthood as a "health" resource.
Moravian University in Pennsylvania and Southwestern University in Texas had their grades increase from a "D" to a "C" after taking the same course of action, indicating that the universities still have two infractions despite working to correct a third.
Although Oklahoma City University in Oklahoma removed Planned Parenthood as a "health resource," it still retains a "D" grade for "adding and removing a connection." Due to having at least four infractions, Duke University in North Carolina, Muhlenberg College in Pennsylvania and Santa Clara University in California continue to have "F" grades even after removing Planned Parenthood as a "volunteer opportunity," "self-help" resource and "a resource concerning consent," respectively.
Most of the 732 Christian colleges and universities examined in the report earned grades of "A" or higher, meaning they do not have any ties to Planned Parenthood. Fifty-eight schools have grades of "A+," while 591 received "A" grades.
Notable schools with grades of "A+" include Arizona Christian University, Benedictine College in Kansas, Hillsdale College in Michigan, Liberty University in Virginia, Marquette University in Wisconsin, The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., and Wheaton College in Illinois. Meanwhile, prominent schools with "A" grades include Asbury University in Kentucky, Baylor University in Texas, Bob Jones University in South Carolina, Brigham Young University in Utah and Georgetown University in Washington, D.C.
However, 83 Christian institutions of higher education received grades of "B" or lower, indicating some type of relationship with or promotion of Planned Parenthood on behalf of the schools. This amounts to more than 11% of the total. Twenty-four colleges achieved "B" grades, 20 schools earned "C" grades, and 15 secured "D" grades.
The 24 schools that received "F" grades for having four or more "infractions" include American University in Washington, D.C., Boston College in Massachusetts, Davidson College in North Carolina, Emory University in Georgia and St. Olaf College in Minnesota. The combined number of infractions at each of the schools tied to Planned Parenthood adds up to 247.
Listing Planned Parenthood as a "health resource" was the most common infraction at the Christian schools, accounting for 41.9% of violations.
The second most common infraction was offering an internship opportunity at the abortion provider (25.4%), followed by hosting campus events in support of the abortion provider (18.2%), making a general statement in support of the organization (9.7%) and offering volunteer opportunities there (4.7%).
Compared to last year's "Christian Schools Project," infractions increased by 33%. At the same time, the number of schools receiving an "A+" rating rose by 32%.
Ryan Foley is a reporter for The Christian Post. He can be reached at: ryan.foley@christianpost.com
