New York governor pushes for paid medical leave during pregnancy
New York governor pushes for paid medical leave during pregnancy
New York governor pushes for paid medical leave during pregnancy
Pregnant people in New York would have 40 hours of paid leave to attend prenatal medical appointments under a new proposal by Gov. Kathy Hochul after the state’s legislative session kicked off this week.
The Democrat’s plan to expand the state’s paid family leave policy, which would need to be approved by the state Legislature, aims to expand access to high-quality prenatal care and prevent maternal and infant deaths in New York, an issue that especially affects low-income and minority communities.
The U.S. infant mortality rate, a measure of how many babies die before they reach their first birthday, is worse than other high-income countries, which experts have attributed to poverty, inadequate prenatal care and other possibilities. The U.S. rate rose 3% in 2022 — the largest increase in two decades, according to a 2023 report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
I really wish someday there would be more a push for paid leave for EVERYONE.
I do not begrudge parents paid parental leave and think it should be offered. But it would be nice if someone were to consider doing something, anything for the rest of us. Instead, we only get the extra work of picking up the slack.
This is leave to attend prenatal medical appointments, not vacation time. They don’t schedule those for funsies, it’s to see if you or your fetus might die.
Like, yes, everyone deserves more time off. At the same time, prenatal healthcare in the US is inaccessible for many and it has lifelong or even deadly consequences. Framing this as a “time off” issue instead of an “able to afford access to medical care” issue is missing what’s causing the need for this in the first place.
Do you think pregnant people are the only ones that need to go to the doctor? They could still make it medical only and apply to everyone.
And medical care or vacation, you think the rest of us don’t have to pick up the slack just the same?
The fact is, the US is doing it wrong. Other countries have more generous family leave, but it is a government benefit, not employer-paid. That often lets employers hire temporary replacements regather than be short staffed. Also, they offer ample vacation benefits so everyone else isn’t burnt out.
For many people in North America (but admittedly not all), pregnancy is a choice. If I choose to get elective surgery, should I not also be entitled to time off for the medical appointments?
As someone who chose not to have kids, I still support special PTO and medical leave for people who decide to have kids.
The population is aging where I live, and I would like to incentivize people to make future tax payers and future people that I can pay to wipe my ass when I’m old.
The next generation is an investment in my future wellbeing even if I didn’t have kids.
Do you really think it is 40 hours of leave for prenatal appointments, or even long parental leave that is stopping people from having kids? No, it's expensive childcare, unaffordable healthcare, low wages, low time off generally, as well as a garbage world that seems to be circling the drain due to climate change and pollution. My workplace actually does already offer 40 hours for prenatal care along with 12 weeks paid leave after birth, and I still have zero intention of having kids. I don't make enough money anyway, and even then, I don't want them to have to live in a climate change hellscape.
And I personally think we are overpopulated and declining population would be good. How cruel to think people should have kids just so those kids can wipe our ass in the future. In fact, when the times comes that I can't wipe my ass, I hope we have options, because I would choose euthanasia.
Again, that is not to speak against paid parental leave. But everybody gets sick. Everybody gets burned out. Have time for everybody.
Agreed, they always have to carve out this stuff for deserving people, and it's just making things more complicated and divisive.
This mindset of absolutely making sure nobody could possibly abuse something is really terrible policy.
I vote every one gets 200 hours of paid leave a year, with no questions asked unless it’s sudden. (Then some brief vague questions about why.)
Perhaps those 40 hours should be available to anyone who needs doctors' appointments during the workday. Which is when doctors' offices are open, after all. You could go get a mammogram or prostate exam instead of an ultrasound. You could pee in a cup for entirely different reasons than testing for preeclampsia.You could get an IUD or a vasectomy or abortion (*not available in all states) so you won't need the prenatal care. You could get swabbed for strep throat and get antibiotics, or get vaccinated to prevent spreading viruses.
Maybe we could stretch it to eye exams and dental work, even though they are otherwise excluded from "medical" care.
While we're at it, nonsmokers should have a place to go (on the opposite side of the building from the smoke-break area) for 10 minutes of deeply breathing fresh air.
In Spain, which is way way more progressive than US, women get unlimited paid leave during pregnancy (as in you can go to as many medical appointments as you want, there's no cap) and normal appointments are still not covered. My guess is that covering all of the appointments would mean quite a big hit for the economy while the amount of times a woman will get pregnant is very limited and will not cause such issues.
Also, if you need to get out to breath the air quality at your workplace doesn't meet the legal requirements and should be fixed.
I think this is viable if we do it with taxes.
It's non-viable if you expect all businesses to provide it for their employees because most businesses literally cannot afford it.
If those businesses can't afford it, they only exist because of exploitation. Maybe those businesses should fail.
I made that exact point in another post. Most countries have paid family leave and some sick leave as a government benefit, which both allows broader benefits, and can even allow businesses to hire temporary help. They also mandate lots of leave generally, so the remaining employees are not burnt out with extra work and little time off.