Yesterday the rule that was approved without objections authorizes the presence of babies in the United States Senate after Senator Tammy Duckworth, who has been a mother recently, asked the camera to go to work with her baby.
It is common sense, and although some senators expressed their disagreement privately because they could threaten the decorum of the Senate, the measure was passed unanimously and those who work in the upper house they can take their newborn children with them.
Common sense
And it should be in any job, that the mother once finished her maternity leave (or when she decides to return to work), can take your baby and feed him when he needs it, although practically unthinkable in most companies (except those with a childcare center for employees). Working mothers need support for a true reconciliation that allows them to naturally reconcile their working life with their maternal facet.
Naturally, in the United States Senate there will also be no problem if it is they, the parents, who take their babies to the compound. Hopefully such measures would be extended in all countries, and not only for members of parliament.
"I'm not going to oppose something like that, not in these times," said Sen. Pat Roberts of Kansas, father of three children and grandfather of six grandchildren.Although apparently, it has not been a resounding yes, since later the senator pointed out that a person can be at the door of a room next to the camera and cast his vote. "I have done it," he said. Allowing babies to enter the Senate, he said, "I don't think it's necessary."
#senate passes by UC S Res 463 allowing Senators to bring babies on the Senate floor.
- Senate Press Gallery (@SenatePress) April 18, 2018
Remember that maternity leave in the United States is painful (it is one of the few countries in the world that has no paid maternity leave) and that distance work is not an option in the Senate, because it requires that its members issue their vote in person.
The baby who inspired the change
The inspirer of the change is little Maile Pearl, born on April 9 and daughter of Sen. Tammy Duckworth of Illinois, the only senator in US history to give birth while in office.
Mothers and babies in Parliament
Since 2016 Australia allows members of parliament to breastfeed and bottle feed their babies inside the enclosure, where we have seen a senator breastfeeding her baby while filing a motion
Europarliamentarian Licia Ronzulli set a trend five years ago by going to a Parliament vote with her daughter for only a month in tow, wrapped in a scarf. From there, he accompanied her on several occasions and we have been able to see how it was growing.
So did other mothers, such as a legislator from Iceland, the Chilean deputy Camila Vallejo or the Danish MEP Hanne Dahl, and in our country, the deputy of Podemos Carolina Bescansa.
