You wouldn’t think a woman having a baby would be a rarity or something nearly unheard of. But for women in Congress, it actually is.
And that makes Florida’s GOP Representative Anna Paulina Luna’s pregnancy announcement cause for celebration.
If you haven’t heard, Luna is pregnant with her first child, which is due in August, according to TIME magazine.
She told the publication, “We are very excited to welcome our son later this summer. Children are a blessing, and we could not have asked for a greater gift.”
As I said, this shouldn’t be all that shocking to learn that a 30-something-year-old politician is pregnant and soon to give birth. However, as I mentioned before, it’s something nearly unheard of.
In fact, Luna is only the 12th woman ever to hold a congressional office and give birth to a child. And yes, I mean in the history of our nation, where some 12,500 members of Congress have sat in those seats for over 234 years.
As Eric Cortellessa of TIME noted, “That’s less than 0.1 percent.”
Now, of course, he points out that a large reason for this extremely low statistic is that men have disproportionately dominated America’s congressional bodies. Women weren’t even allowed to vote, let alone sit in Congress, for many years.
Of course, that doesn’t mean there have only ever been 12 mothers in Congress. But for most of these mothers, their children came before their time in public office.
However, as Congress continues to see an increase in both female members and decidedly younger ones than ever, it’s only natural that the odds of women giving birth while in office would rise too. Then again, with abortion and divorce rates, the opposition to traditional families or sexual identity, having children is more challenging than ever.
Thankfully, Luna sees it for the blessing that it is. Here’s to hoping many more will follow in her footsteps.
