While pro-abortion activists frequently claim that anti-abortion advocates only care about mothers and babies until the moment of birth, the actions of many pro-life Americans proves otherwise.
As one recent example, two Republican lawmakers have introduced a new bill aimed at protecting healthcare benefits for parents who opt to exit the workforce to care for their newborn children.
If successful, the Fairness for Stay-At-Home Parents Act, introduced by Sens. J.D. Vance (R-OH) and Marco Rubio (R-FL) would “prohibit an employer from recovering any healthcare premium paid by the employer for an employee if the employee fails to return to work due to the birth of a child, and for other purposes.”
The proposed bill also calls for employers to keep making contributions to employees’ health insurance premium costs during an extended leave period of up to 12 weeks.
Vance touted the concept in a statement asserting that U.S. law “should not penalize new parents who choose to stay home to care for their newborn babies” and that the country “should celebrate and promote young families, not punish them.”
This proposal, he claimed, “would relieve a serious financial burden for working families all over America and steer Washington in a more pro-family direction.”
For his part, Rubio said that the proposed expansion of the family and Medical Leave Act “supports mothers’ and parents’ invaluable role in raising the next generation” by stopping “employers from imposing harsh financial penalties if a parent decides not to return to work after unpaid leave” and empowering “parent to make choices that prioritize the well-being of their children.”
Both the percentage of stay-at-home parents and the overall birth rate have been steadily declining in recent years. According to census data revealed in November, fewer than one in four children under the age of 15 with a traditional nuclear family had a mother who stayed at home — and just 1% had a stay-at-home father.
Financial insecurity remains one of the biggest hurdles for prospective parents, which has driven the birth rate in the U.S. down to roughly half of what it was just 60 years ago.
