Let’s Shift the Narrative, Pro-life Leaders.
“The future of humanity passes by way of the family.”
Over the past weekend, I was asked by Students for Life of America to speak at their national pro-life conference, the nation’s largest pro-life conference, to discuss policies that empower life and affirm families. It was a historical moment because this was the first post-Roe, pro-life conference with the first post-Roe generation. And as the first post-Roe generation, this generation has a great responsibility to partner with leaders from all industries to shape a culture that firmly supports mothers, fathers, and their sons and daughters.
Making a claim, “I am pro-life,” is more significant because it is more than just being “anti-abortion.” To be pro-life means one is willing to journey and come alongside a woman, not only before and during her pregnancy but after she gives birth. If a woman is making a lifelong commitment to saying “yes” to life, then pro-lifers must meet her in the unique vulnerabilities she encounters throughout her journey of “yes."
As you may know, most women who have abortions cite the inability to afford a child as a key determiner in their decision.1 That said, if financial insecurity is a large contributor to why she chooses abortion, then we need to address her need. How do we come alongside her and shift her despair into hope? Shift her fear into confidence? How do we help women and men become confident mothers and fathers?
There are many dimensions to the pro-life movement that will impactfully respond to these questions; however, state and national policy need to be a part of the answers. What we value as a nation needs to be reflected in our policies. In a democracy, a society's laws reflect its moral values and priorities. So if we are making a stand that we value mothers, fathers, children, family formation, affordability, and stability, then our policy outcomes should reflect these priorities.
At this point, you might be asking, “wait, Anna, I agree on principle, but I can’t support growing the government”! Well, guess what, friend: I agree with you. I am not suggesting policies that grow the government, but rather find innovative, creative solutions that grow healthy and strong families. When there is a breakdown in families, the government steps in to pick up those pieces…the price tag? Expensive and burdensome for us. Civil society and sound pro-family policy must step up so the government can step back.
The great work of civil society can either be enhanced or inhibited by public policy. Thus, let’s make it work together so that as families get healthier, the government gets smaller.
So let’s preview the current culture and how it can be shaped to address the above. Let’s briefly journey together through 3 stories, 3 facts, and 3(ish) policies pending in Congress that could be a reality come the first anniversary of the court’s overturn of Roe back to the states.
Meet Elena
Story: Single mom in Amarillo, Texas.19 years old. Within 3 weeks of giving birth to her baby girl, she is back working the night shifts as a motel receptionist. The first week back on the job, Elena made $75 – that night, she went home and cried. Elena also had no other choice but to bring her 3-week-old baby to work with her. Lacking the material assistance to provide for her child on site, she kept her child in a makeshift bundle of blankets on the floor.
Fact: 1 in 4 women in the United States return to work within 10-14 days of having a baby.2
Policy Pending In Congress: Child Tax Credit for Pregnant Moms Act (Senator Daines R-MT) and the Family Secure Act (Senator Mitt Romney R-UT). The first bill allows pregnant mothers to be eligible to receive the child tax credit while the second bill would streamline various programs into one, creating a monthly benefit that families can draw on for their children’s expenses. Can you imagine if Elena had that money in advance of her daughter’s delivery to stock up on diapers, a new crib, a baby carrier, etc., and could take time off work to address prenatal care appointments and post-birth care for both her and her baby?
Meet Tina and Erik
Story: Early twenties. Both worked to make ends meet and were expecting their first child, Justice. Working within their shoestring budget, they planned for their son’s arrival, but something unplanned happened; Justice arrived five weeks early. Not only did Justice face medical complications that put him in the NICU, but Tina also faced unplanned medical complications. The day they walked out of the hospital, Tina and Erik were strapped with thousands of dollars of debt. 4 in 10 Americans cannot cover an unexpected $400 expense3, and this couple is faced with thousands. A time of celebration had become filled with financial stress and uncertainty. These are hardworking parents who make the median income and pay their taxes, and the moment they needed a short-term stop-gap to help them in their greatest financial struggle, to give their budding family a strong start, they came up in the negative. In one word: they felt defeated. Furthermore, Tina had to cobble together sick leave. After it was used up, she had to return to work within two weeks of giving birth and did not have access to other paid leave to accommodate her follow-up medical appointments to ensure she and her baby were on track and healthy. For a mother to have no choice but to take sick leave in order to have her baby, what does that say about the priority of pregnancy? Or about the birth of her baby? A mother carrying her son or daughter in the womb is never an illness, and our culture too often views it as such. At least paid family leave properly contextualizes leave taken to value and provides wraparound support for forming families.
Fact: 77% of Americans do not have access to paid family leave after the birth or adoption of a child.4
Fact #2: 48% with household incomes under $30,000 go on public assistance after the birth of a baby.5 After taking paid leave, mothers are 39% less likely to go on public assistance and 40% less likely to need food stamps.6
Policy Pending In Congress: Providing for Life Act (Senator Marco Rubio R-FL) and the Parental Paid Leave Plan (Senators. Cassidy (R-LA) and Sinema (I-AZ)). Senator Rubio’s proposal provides new and existing comprehensive support for pregnant and new moms and young children. This includes paid family leave that pays for itself by advancing benefits Americans are already receiving and expanding the child tax credit, among other pro-family initiatives. Senators Cassidy and Sinema have teamed up to allow parents to advance their child tax credit up to $5,000 at the birth or adoption of their children.
Story: These three different dads represent the 5% –within the 23% who have access to paid family leave – who have taken paid leave to help themselves transition into the role of fatherhood and help their wives transition into motherhood (i.e., change diapers, help with bottle feeding, making grocery runs, etc., ). Shahrouz observes from his experience that “paternity leave lays the groundwork for your future relationship with your child. The more you’re involved in the beginning, the more it becomes the norm.”7 While a mother uniquely bonds with her baby while pregnant, fathers begin to bond when their children are born.8 When a father takes time to bond in those initial weeks following his child’s birth, regardless of marital status, that father will most likely remain in his sons’ and daughters’ lives for the rest of their lives. We are experiencing a pandemic of fatherlessness and bad societal outcomes.9 A father’s role is critical to helping his baby form healthy attachments and brain development – primarily social, emotional, and relational – within the first 3 months of his child’s life outside the womb, which is foundational to all other brain development that results in higher educational rates, lower crime rates, and higher economic output for the child. Life is hard. Given that mother nature and nurture are interdependent, the least we can do is encourage the most advantageous, strongest environment for children to prosper from the beginning.
On a separate note, shoutout to my fellow women in the workforce — normalizing paternity leave and maternity leave equally levels the playing field for women in the workforce, so they are not seen as a higher liability when it comes to hiring.
Fact: Of American dads with access to paid family leave, 5% will take two weeks to help their wives and bond with their children.10
Policy in Law: Tax Relief for employers that provide paid family leave Introduced by Senators Fischer (R-NE) and King (I-ME), Section 13403 of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) created a 2-year tax credit for employers that offer up to 12 weeks of paid family and medical leave to employees. Employers can choose to receive a credit for up to 25% of wages paid to employees who use such leave.
These are just a few examples of the policies that have been floated in Congress and can have the critical mass of support to become law – we need to organize ourselves and leverage the momentum we can create to see them through. Being a former policy advisor, other ideas that have been bopping around in my head (for the record, prioritizing values and brainstorming around them is fun):
Provide a tax credit for employers that offer on-site child care and lactation rooms;
Expand and advance the CTC for pregnant mothers so they have access to that money to start paying for neonatal care and other relevant costs for preparing for their babies or even putting aside money for post-birth care;
Expand the CTC up until the child is 3 years old;
Offer government FSA programs for family care expenses;
Reevaluate the definition of childcare to include extended family members who qualify as secondary childcare providers. This is especially important for Black and Hispanic families who traditionally rely on extended family support.
As I began so, I will end, “the future of humanity passes by way of the family.” The current environment is fertile ground for us to lead in these conversations (here and here) to prudentially and creatively unite and bring forward principles and policies that give women and men the courage and confidence to become mothers and fathers. To offer genuine financial security and flexibility that allows parents to choose life over and over, growing their families, and creating a healthy and sustainable society.
1 Boonstra, Heather D. 2018. “Abortion in the Lives of Women Struggling Financially: Why Insurance Coverage Matters.” Guttmacher Institute.
2 Naional Compensation Survey: Employee Benefits in the United States.” 2021. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
3 Sherter, Alain. 2019. “Nearly 40% of Americans Can’t Cover a Surprise $400 Expense.” CBS News
4 Paquette, Danielle. 2015. “The Shocking Number of New Moms Who Return to Work Two Weeks after Childbirth.” The Washington Post.
5 Stepler, Renee. 2017. “U.S. Views on Paid Family and Medical Leave: Key Findings.” Pew Research Center
6 McGuire, Ashley E. 2018. “Perspective. How Conservatives Are Poised to Actually Make Paid Family Leave a Reality.”The Washington Post.
7 Nordberg, Anna. “Paid leave changed these dads. Here’s why it’s crucial.” 2021.
8 Boyle, Alan, Science Editor, and NBC News. 2013. “This Is Your Brain on Fatherhood: Dads Experience Hormonal Changes Too, Research Shows.” NBCNews.com.
9 Wilcox, Brad. 2022. Life Without Father: Less College, Less Work, and More Prison for Young Men Growing Up Without Their Biological Father. Institute for Family Studies.
10 Picchi, Aimee. 2021. “America’s troubled relationship with paid time off for dads.” Money Watch.