Need To Know | September 24, 2021

Extending Paid Leave for Miscarriage; Corporate Backlash to Texas Abortion Law; Study Finds Vaccinated Pregnant Mothers Pass Antibodies to Babies

In Nyssa's weekly 'Need to Know' series, we recap the three most important stories related to reproductive health, sex education, and bodily autonomy.

Call to extend paid leave for miscarriage before 24 weeks, BBC News

In 2020, the UK passed a law granting paid parental leave for the loss of a baby after 24 weeks. If you miscarry or suffer a loss prior to 24 weeks, you either go back to work or take sick leave in order to grieve. Considering 1 in 4 pregnancies end in miscarriage and 85% of those happen in the first trimester (weeks 1 to 12), an expansion of paid leave is a clear necessity. SNP MP Angela Crawley is calling for a three-day paid leave after the loss of a child before 24 weeks. Her private members’ bill, introduced to Parliament this summer, will be argued in December.

Corporate Backlash Builds Against Texas’s Abortion Ban: “Policies That Restrict Reproductive Health Are Bad for Business,” Ms. Magazine

Over 50 companies including Lyft, Yelp, Glossier, and Bumble signed a letter condemning the recent six-week abortion law in Texas that deputizes the public to sue anyone supporting an abortion-seeking person. The letter argues the abortion ban is bad for employees and bad for business saying, “The economic losses from existing abortion restrictions, including labor force impact and earnings, already cost the State of Texas an estimated $14.5 billion annually. Nationally, state-level restrictions cost state economies $105 billion dollars per year.”

The Verdict Is In: Pregnant women pass COVID-fighting antibodies to their unborn children, Business Insider