Connecticut Lawmaker Pushes Amendment Of Proposed Bill To Remove Reference To "Pregnant Persons"

A Connecticut lawmaker has successfully gotten her state to refer to pregnant women as "expecting mothers" instead of "pregnant persons" in an upcoming piece of legislation.

State Rep. Robyn Porter, a Democrat representing New Haven, crafted an amendment to House Bill 5454, which deals with state funding for mental health resources, according to the New York Post.

Originally, lines five and six of HB 5454 read "… shall create a strategic plan to maximize federal and state resources for mental health services for children six years old and younger, their caregivers and pregnant persons." Porter took issue with this language, saying that the language attacks the identity of women everywhere.

"My children call me mother, ma, mommy. It depends on the day. I don't answer to pregnant person or birthing person," Porter said in a legislative session on Thursday. "That's not what I answer to. A huge part of my identity is wrapped around being a mother and a grandmother. So I find it an affront that someone would try to tell me that what they're putting on paper for the purpose of policy covers me when I'm telling you that it doesn't." 

The underlying assumption with the language of the bill is that men can get pregnant, which is not true. It’s sad Connecticut needed an amendment to make sure their bill reflected biological reality.

Porter wanted to make sure that the language about expecting mothers reflected reality and common sense.

Democratic Rep. Jillian Gilchrest voiced the strongest opposition to the change, in large part because she came up with the original language for the bill.

"Pregnant person is actually the inclusive term. It is a gender neutral term, and it would encompass expectant mothers, pregnant women," Gilchrest said. "As we talk about DEI, this is the direction we are hoping to move in in this state and ideally across the country," she said. "And so the term pregnant persons is the more inclusive term, and so I would ask my colleagues to oppose the amendment."

Fortunately, logic won the day, and Porter’s proposed change passed by a wide magin, with 32 of the 48 possible  votes being cast in support of her amendment. Most of the supporting votes came from Republicans.

Porter said that her stance was fueled by a desire to ensure that women are not erased in the desire for the state to be inclusive.

"You don’t get to grow, and you don’t get to talk about diversity, equity, and inclusion and exclude me and the other women like me who identify as mothers," Porter said. "You don’t get to do that."