Camille Hawkins remembers that she and her husband were “cautiously optimistic” when she learned that she was expecting in 2018.
The positive pregnancy test came as a surprise, she said, since the Sandy couple had struggled with infertility for years before they adopted their two daughters. And everything was looking good — until Camille Hawkins noticed she wasn’t feeling her baby move as often.
At 31 weeks, the couple learned their soon-to-be daughter had died.
“We were so devastated and in shock,” Hawkins told The Salt Lake Tribune recently.
Hawkins’ “grief journey” over the years has been “windy and up and down and all around and dark and bright,” she said. In late January, she told state lawmakers about her stillbirth, as she encouraged them to support a bill from Republican Sen. Wayne Harper.
Under SB63, Utahns who work for a city, county, the state or a public college or university would receive at least three days of paid bereavement leave after a miscarriage or stillbirth, whether they experienced it themselves, or if their spouse or partner did.
“This is the compassionate thing to do,” said Harper, who represents West Jordan and Taylorsville, at the Jan. 21 legislative hearing.
There isn’t the same guarantee in the private sector, though, and policies vary depending on the company. When 29-year-old Nicole Larson, of North Salt Lake, miscarried last summer, she said she didn’t...
A man in his 40s who raised allegations of overseas sexual misconduct involving Democratic Party of Korea candidate Park Ji-won ahead of the June 3 local elections has been referred to the Prosecu...