Illinois Democratic Sen. Tammy Duckworth, the first senator to give birth while in office, believes congress should change the rules so she can bring her baby on votes, according to a Monday CNN report.
Duckworth, a 50-year-old Democrat and retired Army lieutenant colonel, gave birth Monday to new daughter Maile Pearl. She had her first child in 2014 while serving in the House of Representatives — both children conceived through in vitro fertilization.
It’s a girl for Tammy Duckworth, the first US senator to give birth while in office. She says rules should be changed so she can bring her baby to votes. https://t.co/SeY2CuvX6Z pic.twitter.com/FoKctx8VK0
— CNN Breaking News (@cnnbrk) April 9, 2018
Duckworth’s experience as a mother gave her “an important — and underrepresented — perspective in the halls of Congress,” the Illinois senator’s office said in a press statement shortly after Pearl’s birth. She has introduced several pieces of legislation aimed at helping parents, The New York Times reported Monday.
“Parenthood isn’t just a women’s issue; it’s an economic issue and one that affects all parents — men and women alike,” Duckworth said in her statement. “As tough as juggling the demands of motherhood and being a Senator can be, I’m hardly alone or unique as a working parent, and my children only make me more committed to doing my job and standing up for hardworking families everywhere.”
Duckworth was a helicopter pilot during the 2003 Iraq War. She became a double amputee after her Black Hawk helicopter was shot down.
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