<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Senator Tom Cotton introduced a bill on Wednesday that would amend federal law to allow for parental leave in the case of an unborn child’s death.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The Arkansas Republican&#8217;s <a href="https://www.cotton.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/healing_act_2025.pdf">bill</a> would amend the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 to allow for a mother and her husband to take 12 workweeks of unpaid leave over the course of a year in the event that they lose an unborn child. The bill would also create a refundable tax credit for any mother, or couple, who experiences a stillbirth. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“This bill will make sure families receive the resources they need to help recover from the unexpected loss of a child,” Cotton told The Daily Wire. “No amount of money can replace such a loss, but the legislation will make sure parents have time to begin the recovery process.”</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The legislation is called the ‘‘Helping with Equal Access to Leave and Investing in Needs for Grieving Mothers and Fathers Act.” Cotton introduced similar legislation in 2023. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Republican Senators Kevin Cramer (ND) and Cindy Hyde-Smith (MS) also sponsored the legislation. </span><span style="font-weight: 400;"><br />
</span><span style="font-weight: 400;"><br />
</span><span style="font-weight: 400;">“It has taken policymakers too long to recognize that parents should be allowed time to heal following a miscarriage or stillbirth,” Hyde-Smith said. “The loss of a child is devastating and heartbreaking for families, and this legislation formally acknowledges their need for time following such a loss.”</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The bill would “provide leave for the spontaneous loss of an unborn child” with spontaneous loss defined as “the loss of a child in the womb that does not result from a purposeful act and is unplanned.” </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">It would be consistent with current standards for certification, notice, flexibility and leave substitution for federal family leave law. </span></p>
<p>Women who end the lives of their unborn children through abortion would not qualify for the benefits under the legislation.</p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The bill is similar to a law in Arkansas passed in 2021 that provides a tax credit for unborn children who are stillborn. Republican State Representative Les Eaves <a href="https://www.kark.com/news/politics/arkansas-paisleys-law-inspires-federal-bill-for-stillborn-reform/">introduced</a> the bill after </span>his granddaughter, Paisley Havranek, was stillborn on February 6, 2019.</p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“One day before she died, she was a perfect, fully formed, beautiful little girl, but she’s not recognized as a dependent at that point,” he said at the time. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">In recent years, Republicans have pushed for more legislation to support family formation. Earlier this year, West Virginia Republican Rep. Riley Moore <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/exclusive-republican-bill-would-save-thousands-for-parents-who-stay-home-with-kids?author=Leif+Le+Mahieu&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=undefined&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=EXCLUSIVE%3A+Republican+Bill+Would+Save+Thousands+For+Parents+Who+Stay+Home+With+Kids">introduced</a> a bill alongside Senator Mike Lee (R-UT) that would ensure that new moms would not be “penalized” under federal law for deciding to leave the workforce and stay home with their child.</span></p>

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EXCLUSIVE: Tom Cotton Pushes To Give Key Benefit To Mothers Who Lose Unborn Children