Maternity Leave: Mothers Have Rights Too Often times, pregnancy is a time for celebration. Excitement fills the air and the idea of a new bouncy baby is gleefully welcomed. For some women, bringing a child into the world is a lifelong dream. The act of being able to provide for a child until they can provide for themselves is supposed to bring a parent joy, but there is no excitement or joy when providing for that child becomes a problem. Too often, women are forced to choose between securing a stable job and caring for their child. This problem exists far too prominently in America, where a pregnant soon-to-be mother is treated like a disabled man. The provisions of maternity leave are set forth by the employers of certain companies, which indicate that these employers choose the amount of time a mother gets off (for some, this can be as short as six weeks), the amount of money a mother gets paid while on leave, whether or not she gets paid at all, and/or if she is even guaranteed a job upon return. When these decisions are left up to the employers, they unsurprisingly, choose the track that manages to keep the most money in their pockets. One proposes there to be a federal law that …show more content…
The United States needs to adapt a method like Europe. According to How Does Job-Protected Maternity Leave Affect Mothers’ Employment, “In Europe, leave entitlements are typically universal, long and paid, whereas in the United States, they are restricted, short, and unpaid” (Baker 656). The United States should protect the parent’s natural rights to have children instead of allowing companies to persecute them. By changing the policies and creating a federal law that allows parents a longer paid leave with a guaranteed position in their company once they come back, these men and women will be