America is the worst rich country in the world to be a mother. 2020 could change that

[Soph0571]

Female presidential candidates are pushing issues such as reproductive rights, maternal mortality, parental leave and childcare to the front of the political agenda.

America is the worst country in the developed world to be a mother. I do not make this claim lightly, but what other conclusion can you draw knowing that more women die during childbirth in the US than in any other rich, industrialised nation? That infant mortality rates are so high that women in the US are more likely to lose their baby in the first year of its life than mothers in any other developed country? That America is the only rich country not to guarantee its citizens paid parental leave? After all, only New Guinea, Suriname, and a few Pacific island nations share US policymakers’ view that a new mother could be compelled to return to her job while her stiches are still healing, her breasts are still swollen and engorged, and her baby is utterly helpless.
--------
A woman president, whether she is a mother or not, is no guarantee that America will address this national shame. But the 2020 Democratic field, which includes six women, is showing promising signs of taking these issues more seriously and committing to fix the problems that the 45 male presidents of the United States have left unresolved. Together the female 2020 candidates are helping shift the perception that maternal mortality, parental leave and early childcare are not marginal “women’s issues” but urgent national ones.
--------
Warren, Gillibrand, Klobuchar and Harris are turning motherhood into a powerful political tool, using their personal stories to help push policies that have been overlooked for too long. Their proposals have a knock-on effect, forcing other candidates to respond and match their ideas. As Michelle Ruiz observes in Vogue, it’s a measure of how much the politics of pregnancy and childcare have been overlooked that Gillibrand and her co-sponsor Rosa DeLauro introduced her Family Act in 2013, 3015 and 2017 and on all three occasions it failed to even make it out of committee. Next time, she might expect to have better luck.

[link:https://www.newstatesman.com/world/north-america/2019/05/america-worst-rich-country-world-be-mother-2020-could-change|

We will see. But the fact that it there will be a knock on effect, the irony of course it is coming at a time when woman's rights are under such fundamental attack.

[rainin]

1. It's frightening to be trans, too. Not the worst country, obviously, but it doesn't feel like

we've learned much in the last 2000 years. We may have to find another country to settle in.

[Soph0571]

2. The UK is more trans accepting than America, for sure

When I say UK I probably mean the London bubble, of course. When I say accepting I mean we refuse just to 'tolerate'. Tolerate is just rude. Who the fuck would ever want to just be tolerated? I worry for trans and the whole LGBTQ community in America right now. Rights are regressing so quickly and the ill informed and the hate filled, through passive negativity and neglect, will allow what this regime is trying to do to happen unless all allies are vigilant.

[rainin]

3. I live in constant fear. My daughter went into walmart to get a coffee

and she didn't come out for a long time. I was terrified. I couldn't leave my dog in the car - 100 degrees outside - so I waited longer than I felt comfortable scared to death she was getting harassed. She's just a lovely person, inside and out, and she faces so much hardship because of horrible people. It's truly terrifying.

[Soph0571]

4. Was she OK?

It is unacceptable in 2019 that anyone should live in fear because of who they or their loved ones are. I hate it. I live a life of privilege as a well educated cis gendered white woman with a senior executive job. It is an anathema to me that anyone should not enjoy the benefits I have based on how society perceives their 'differences'.

[rainin]

6. They didn't accept android pay so she was delayed. Nothing happened. She didn't even know

how scared I was. The fear is from the potential that something ugly could happen. I'm afraid for her when she needs a bathroom. I'm afraid somebody will just start yelling at her. There is no guarantee of safety for her.

[Mr.Bill]

5. If we don't take back the Senate

none of this will change. None of it.

The republicans are the problem. They hate women. Even republican women hate women.

[RKP5637]

7. America First is such a joke. It's become a sickening place for many. It's difficult to have much

respect for the US, working hard to be last in everything. IMO it's definitely not a place many would go/live if they had other options.