A bipartisan effort to allow new mothers to vote by proxy after giving birth highlights the unique challenges facing female lawmakers as they balance motherhood with the House’s outdated rules.
Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.) grew frustrated with the lack of a mechanism to vote on behalf of her constituents after she suffered serious complications during the birth of her son in August. She and Rep. Sara Jacobs (D-Calif.)Submit a bipartisan proposal To fix this, the resolution would amend House rules to allow lawmakers to vote by proxy for six weeks after giving birth.
The proposal is much narrower than most Democrats wanted, including excluding adoptive fathers and parents, but with Republicans holding a slim majority in the House, Luna wanted to make it difficult for either party to oppose.
“I think both parties should support this,” Luna said in a recent interview.
“If you hear any voices speaking out against this, I think it’s hypocritical of both parties,” she continued, “mainly because Republicans are champions of family values and motherhood, and Democrats are champions of women in the workforce and women’s rights, so I think this is something that embodies both of those things for members of Congress.”
Before the COVID-19 pandemic, proxy voting was not practiced on the House floor, but it was an effective measure to prevent the spread of infection on Capitol Hill. Over time, the practice of proxy voting has been criticized, especially after lawmakers have been spotted trying to get out of town early at airports or campaigning while the House is still voting.
Republicans removed proxy voting from the bill’s rules entirely when they took back the House, but small groups in both parties have been discussing bringing it back in some form.
“The pandemic has taught us how to adapt and that some of those adaptations are possible, in ways that I don’t think a lot of people believed before,” Jacobs told The Hill in an interview. “And while some people abused proxy voting, I also think many others used it for the purpose that it was meant to be used, to protect their health and the health of all of us.”
Jacobs said recently elected lawmakers “tend to be younger and come from different backgrounds than previous lawmakers,” so “there’s an appetite to update some of these outdated rules to fit the realities of modern families and workplaces.”
When Luna approached Jacobs about pushing for proxy voting, Jacobs said it was a “no brainer” to support her proposal. The Democrat has spoken publicly about her decision to freeze her eggs for when she’s ready to conceive. She said, “Even with all the hormones and shots and doctor’s visits and recovery after the procedure, it was still easier than having a baby.”
Luna has redoubled his efforts in recent weeks to introduce the resolution in the House of Representatives. He told The Hill that he spoke with House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) about the proposal several weeks ago and expects to hear back soon.
Only 13 women have given birth while in office, but two of them did so in the past year: Luna gave birth to a son in August 2023, and Rep. Jennifer Gonzalez Colon (R-Puerto Rico), a non-voting member of the House of Representatives, gave birth to twins in February 2024.
Both Republican congresswomen faced a difficult recovery process.
Luna suffered from preeclampsia, which can be a “silent killer” for pregnant women, and was at risk of cardiac arrest during the birth due to high blood pressure. She also contracted an infection that left her bedridden for a month.
“There are a lot of changes that happen to our bodies after giving birth. I don’t think the founding fathers anticipated women holding public office, so we have to make the necessary changes,” she said.
“I don’t want my constituents to think that I can’t work because I’m pregnant, but I also believe that if the House is going to represent the American people — young families and working parents — then these necessary changes have to be made,” Luna said.
“So we need to move with the times. It’s completely unacceptable that this hasn’t been done before.”
Gonzalez-Colon is 47 and her pregnancy was considered high-risk. She had to be induced into labor at 35 weeks because of high blood pressure, and her twins were in the intensive care unit for 16 days. She said her high blood pressure still keeps her from flying.
Gonzalez-Colon and Luna say these lived experiences reflect the situations many constituents face after giving birth, and that it helps lawmakers better represent their voices.
“The reality is that in the history of the United States Congress, only 13 women have had any success as members of Congress. This sends a message that women are not allowed to actually run the House and the Senate and provide for their families,” Gonzalez-Colon said.
“And I believe that we should represent our families in Congress and give voice to women who are pregnant and women who are having children because we can actually represent more of our community, our district and the issues that exist there.”
Gonzalez-Colon is allowed to vote in certain circumstances, including in committees, and is the only senator to represent all of Puerto Rico, the largest congressional district in the island of 3.2 million people. She said she still participates in Zoom calls and remote meetings and works from her district office in Puerto Rico.
Gonzalez-Colon’s biggest frustration with the removal of proxy voting is with representation, saying it “takes away the voice of the people that we represent and that we are proud to represent.”
“We shouldn’t be in a position to choose between our families and our people, between our families and our voices representing our constituents, because those two things should go together,” she said.
She said by not allowing new mothers to vote by proxy, Congress risks discouraging women from running for office and forcing them to “choose between being a wife, being a mother or going into politics.”
Looking ahead to the coming months, the fate of proxy voting will depend largely on which party wins a majority in the House of Representatives in the November election. That party will then almost certainly approve, in a party-binding vote in January 2025, draft rules specifying whether and under what circumstances proxy voting will be allowed.
Many Democrats are optimistic they can take control of Congress in November and have broader hopes of allowing proxy voting.
Jacobs is a co-sponsorFixesThe bill would allow people to vote by proxy if they have a “serious medical condition, including pregnancy-related conditions, or are the primary caregiver for a spouse or dependent with a serious medical condition and have been advised by a physician not to travel.”
“So I know there is an appetite and those conversations are ongoing,” Jacobs continued. “I don’t know if it will necessarily be this term, given the current makeup of congressional leadership.”
But Luna noted that despite Democrats in power in recent years, the Legislature has consistently maintained slim majorities, and he is keen to see the rules change passed under Republican leadership.
Luna recalled getting a call from a fellow Republican for help about three weeks after giving birth, when she still had medical instructions not to fly.
“I felt like I had to come back here,” Luna said.
“Some senators had dropped out and they were one vote away from passing the bill, so they called me and asked if I could fly out,” Luna said. “So I packed my pump in my luggage and I was literally on my way to the airport and they found a senator who showed up.”
Luna noted that the challenges of being a mother for lawmakers are unlikely to go away anytime soon.
“I’ve heard from some of our younger members that they are about to have children,” she said, “so I know I’m not the only one doing this. So while I can champion this cause, it’s unfortunate that so many members, especially women, support this cause but don’t speak out for fear of backlash.”
