O’Mara: Flowers aren’t enough on Mother’s Day
A Mother’s Day of Advocacy seeks policies that will help families thrive
Rep. Jennifer M. O'Mara May 6, 2026 | 11:15 AM
Mothers need more than flowers for Mother’s Day; they need policies in place that will make life easier for working families and prospective parents.
That was the pre-Mother’s Day message from state Rep. Jennifer O’Mara, D-Delaware, maternal and child health advocates, and other legislators today at a news conference marking A Mother’s Day of Advocacy at the state Capitol.
O’Mara advocated for passage of H.B. 200, bipartisan legislation to establish paid family and medical leave in Pennsylvania, and H.B. 836, which would protect prospective parents’ rights to fertility treatments in the state. O’Mara is a prime sponsor of both bills.
“I am so glad that we are continuing as moms to fight for power and to build power, because that’s the only way we’re going to fix it,” O’Mara said. “We know—who comes when they call? Who fixes the problem? Moms. And that’s what we’re going to do here in the Pennsylvania General Assembly.”
House Bill 200, named the Family Care Act, would support working families by ensuring they never have to choose between their job and their family’s well-being after the birth of a child or during a serious illness. While federal law provides up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave for family and medical reasons, and while neighboring states New Jersey and Delaware offer paid leave, many Pennsylvanians are unable to take paid leave for family and health reasons.
House Bill 836, dubbed the PARENT Act, would prohibit the commonwealth from creating policies that limit access to assistive reproductive technology. The potential loss of access to these treatments is a new challenge for many prospective parents, even though 11% of women and 9% of men struggle with fertility.
Today’s advocacy event was organized by the Maternity Care Coalition, a community-based nonprofit organization serving Pennsylvania and Delaware with over four decades of commitment to improving maternal and child health and early care and education.