The Parental Bereavement Act of 2011 (S 1358)

Please take a moment to sign this petition in support of the Parental Bereavement Act of 2011.  Under the current wording of the Family and Medical Leave Act parents who experience the death of a child are not granted federally protected time off for bereavement.  This is, in my opinion, terribly egregious.

When George died Leif could only take two weeks off before he had to return to work.  I was left at home by myself for another week (until I myself had to return to school) to cry, curled up in a little ball in our bedroom, while Leif had to function like a normal person at work every day.  The fact that the death of a child isn't already included in this piece of legislature just goes to show how those of us who experience something like this are often marginalized in our society.

I ask those of you who are U.S. citizens, even if you have never experienced this type of loss yourself, to take a moment to sign this petition in the effort to give voice to those of us who so often feel invisible.  When filling out the petition I would also ask you to write a brief note to urge the addition of verbiage to the bill to include stillbirth as well, as this seems like a large oversight in its current form.

If you are reading here and have a blog, whether it is about the death of a child or not, perhaps you could help pass on the word as well.  Finally, I ask that you send this to your family and friends and also ask for their support by signing this petition.

This is what I wrote when I signed the petition:

Last year my son died twenty-four minutes after he was born. We loved him as much as anyone loves a child who they were able to bring home from the hospital. We grieved, and continue to grieve for him as any parent would grieve the loss of a child. In order to stay home with me after our son died, my husband had to use up his sick leave and vacation time. It would have been tremendous for him to be able to stay home for more time than he did. To have bereavement leave added to the FMLA would be a kindness to those experiencing the most tragic of all losses. I would also urge the amending of this bill to include bereavement leave for the stillbirth of a child as well.

http://www.petition2congress.com/3937/go

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