(LifeSiteNews) – More than 1-in-7 Christian colleges and universities in America maintain a relationship with Planned Parenthood or another abortion organization, a new report found.
On January 6, the Demetree Institute for Pro-Life Advancement released its fourth consecutive “Christian Schools Tied to Big Abortion” report that investigated 725 Christian colleges and universities in the U.S. It found that 118 had “active ties to the abortion industry” and only eight “addressed these connections” when confronted.
Examples of such ties include listing Planned Parenthood as a recognized health resource for students, hosting NARAL personnel and so-called “reproductive justice advocates” for campus speeches, partnering with Planned Parenthood for campus health events, offering work at abortion clinics as internship or field study opportunities for academic credit, positively highlighting alumni who went on to work for Planned Parenthood, and even making referrals for “termination services,” i.e. abortions.
As for the significance of the trend over time, findings were mixed. On the one hand, purported Christian schools “increased their support of Planned Parenthood by 19.82% since the 2022 Roe v. Wade reversal,” but between 2024 and 2025, “50 ties between Christian schools and Planned Parenthood were severed,” leading to a more than 13% rise in schools Demetree gave an A grade.
“Christian” denominations that expressly support abortion were not included in the analysis, meaning that every offending school represents a faith that claims to be pro-life.
“For parents, alumni, donors, and constituents of faith-based campus life and communities, an expectation that colleges and universities bearing the name ‘Christian’ uphold Christian values is central to their investment in those institutions,” the report says. “Most significant is the trust given to schools for instructing the next generation of leaders in the community. If committed constituents of a school cannot even depend on those bearing the name of Christ to stand for Life, how can they expect the schools to shape future generations according to Scripture? The annual Christian Schools Project uncovers whether Christian colleges and universities uphold their stated Christian values regarding preborn babies and their mothers, as seen in their support for Life — or for abortion.”
LifeSiteNews has extensively covered numerous institutions of higher learning that officially claim Christian affiliation yet promote abortion and other agendas contrary to Biblical principles.
The University of Notre Dame, for instance, says that the “Catholic intellectual and moral traditions provide the underlying foundation for our aspirations as a community of scholars and administrators and shape the spirit with which we engage each other and the world,” but in recent years its commitment to that foundation has been called into doubt over numerous incidents, including but not limited to participation in LGBT “Pride” Month, mandating COVID-19 vaccines despite their use of fetal cells from aborted babies, insuring abortifacient birth-control methods, inviting pro-abortion former president of Colombia Juan Manuel Santos to deliver its 2023 commencement address, and hosting a drag show.
Samford University declares itself a “diverse community, stressing vigorous learning and personal faith, in the Baptist tradition,” listing among its core values belief in God and Jesus Christ, spiritual growth, civic engagement, “integrity, honesty and justice,” and “appreciation for diverse cultures and convictions,” but last year school president Beck Taylor doubled down on Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion (DEI) policies as an element of “biblical justice.”
In 2023, the Jesuit-based Marquette University advertised that its speech and hearing center offered so-called “gender-affirming voice therapy” for both adolescents and adults, for help to “create a voice, along with other aspects of communication, that align with their gender identity and/or gender expression.”
