South Queens, NY (January 31, 2023) - Today, Assemblywoman Jenifer Rajkumar (D-AD 38) convened dozens of advocates and state legislators to call for passage of her landmark bill providing vital support to women who suffer a stillbirth. The Assemblywoman’s historic bill (A2880/S2175) garnered widespread bi-partisan support from the legislature. The bill will add stillbirth as a qualifying event for Paid Family Leave, entitling parents to 12 weeks of paid leave from work with employment protection.

Occurring almost 1,500 times each year in New York, a stillbirth is the loss of a pregnancy on or after 20 weeks. The trauma of a stillbirth leaves parents at high risk of depression, anxiety, and PTSD. The course of medical treatment is similar to a live birth, and doctors recommend that mothers rest for several weeks afterwards to prevent complications.

Under current New York State law, families are entitled to paid leave following the birth of a child, except in the event of a stillbirth. Assemblywoman Rajkumar’s bill will correct this inequity by extending Paid Family Leave to all women who give birth, no matter the outcome of the pregnancy.

Joining Assemblywoman Rajkumar were her colleagues State Senator Tim Kennedy, the bill’s Senate sponsor, State Senator Kevin Parker, State Senator Jessica Scarcella-Spanton, Assemblywoman Rodneyse Bichotte Hermelyn, Assemblyman Matt Slater, and Assemblyman Brian Maher. Also in attendance were members of PUSH for Empowered Pregnancy—a national coalition of parents, healthcare providers, and allies committed to ending preventable stillbirths. Coalition members detailed the incredible mental and physical trauma of their stillbirths, compounded by losing their source of income.

The rally is available in its entirety at https://fb.watch/ip4VvG0tPd/.

Assemblywoman Rajkumar said, “All women who give birth should have paid time off. Make no mistake: women who experienced a stillbirth gave birth, and their bodies went through the birthing process. Their babies were real. Though their precious babies did not survive the birth, their mothers did, and their mothers' bodies need the time to recover just like all women need after a pregnancy. The mother of a stillbirth child also needs the time to grieve the loss of her baby. These women deserve to be seen and to be included in the Paid Family Leave law of our state.”

State Senator Tim Kennedy (D,WF SD-63) said, “Today we are thrilled to be able to pass a bill I sponsored in the Senate. I want to thank my colleagues in the Assembly championing the same. It’s important that families, mothers and fathers, have the ability to grieve, to heal with dignity and respect after the loss of a stillborn child.”

PUSH Pregnancy Co-Director of Awareness Marjorie Vail said, “My stillbirth was 18 years ago and I myself was at the mercy of my lawyers to make sure that I didn’t have to go back to work three days after my loss. Four families a day are approved for paid family leave, but when their child is born still they are denied, which is totally wrong. It is inhumane to ask women, and birthing partners, who have lost and buried a child to return to work in three days. She is not physically, mentally, emotionally, or socially ready to do anything but begin to heal. We implore Governor Hochul and the legislators of this Great State of New York to choose humanity over politics. We ask that this bill be unanimously voted upon so that loss families can focus on healing and not how to pay their bills or feed their families.”

Rachel Krause, a parent who lost her daughter Ophelia in stillbirth said, “I want to thank Jenifer Rajkumar for her friendship in sponsoring this bill. All women who give birth, stillbirth included, need paid leave of three months.”

Cassidy Perrone, loss parent of Olivia said, “Postpartum is a very serious medical condition, yet we can’t care for ourselves. That is a gap in the law in New York and it needs to be immediately fixed. Four women and birthing parents are delivering stillborn babies a day in New York. That is four women that are being forced to make this decision to have to go to work or follow the advice of their doctor. We must first fix Paid Family Leave. Now this is not just an issue of equity: it’s an issue of medical necessity. Every single woman that gives birth to a live child or a deceased child go through the same postpartum effects and symptoms. Lawmakers, you have the ability to fix this injustice. It is time for change in New York and—in honor of Olivia and all of the babies stillborn past, present, and future—I will not stop until this mission is complete.”

Assemblywoman Rodneyse Bichotte Hermelyn (D-AD 42) said, “I want to thank Assemblymember Jenifer Rajkumar and Senator Tim Kennedy for sponsoring this bill and putting it forward. As a survivor of maternal loss, it is difficult to convey just how brutal the trauma is of losing a child to stillbirth. I am standing here today with Assemblymember Jenifer Rajkumar to continue to push many other bills that are going to support mothers and those who have lost their loved ones. Now is the time to give this job-protected pay time to our workers who go through this trauma, and I am ardently supporting this bill sponsored by Assemblymember Jenifer Rajkumar and Senator Tim Kennedy. We are asking all of you to stand with us and make this happen and support this bill.”

State Senator Kevin Parker (D-SD 21) said, “Let me thank Assemblymember Jenifer Rajkumar for her leadership; Senator Tim Kennedy, for his important work in the Senate. I’m adding my voice because these are issues obviously led by women but are really affected to families, and men also need comfort during this time as well. We stand here united saying that this important legislation should be passed immediately, signed by the Governor, and give the families of our Great State the protections and care and the compassion they really need. This is common sense legislation but it also really speaks to everyone’s humanity.”

State Senator Jessica Scarcella-Spanton (D-SD 23) said, “The very first piece of legislation I worked on as a staffer was to help grieving families get a Certificate of Birth Resulting in Stillbirth. I have never forgotten those families and their stories. That’s why I am proud to cosponsor a bill to extend Paid Family Leave to those who experience this tragedy, so they have adequate time to heal, both physically and emotionally.”

Assemblymember Monica P. Wallace (D-AD 143) said, "As a parent, my heart breaks for every New Yorker who suffers the trauma of a pregnancy ending in stillbirth. Women who suffer a stillbirth require significant medical treatment and recovery time, as well as mental health care and time to grieve their terrible loss. I thank my colleagues Assemblymember Rajkumar and Senator Kennedy for fighting to give the thousands of New Yorkers who suffer stillbirth the Paid Family Leave benefits they need to recover and mourn."

Assemblyman Matt Slater (R-AD 94) said, “I want to thank my colleagues for bringing this important piece of legislation to the forefront. This is about protecting and helping our moms – our wives, our sisters, our daughters – and also bringing some humanity to a very unfortunate, traumatizing situation. I’m proud to sign on to this bill and make this a bipartisan effort because it’s common sense and it’s going to go a long way to helping heal our families all across New York State. So again to my colleague, thank you for allowing me to speak, for bringing this piece of legislation to the Assembly. I look forward to working with you to get this done.”

Assemblyman Brian Maher (R,C-AD 101), who is a member of the Committee on Children and Families, said, “Every year, thousands of parents experience the loss of a child through stillbirth and there is no time allotted for them for healing and recovery in New York’s paid family leave. I am proud to join my colleague from across the aisle, Assemblywoman Rajkumar, to sponsor legislation to extend paid family leave to these parents. It is the right thing to do for these families who need support and care during their time of bereavement.”