WATCH: Labour MP weeps in Commons over stillborn daughter
3 min read
A Labour MP wept in the Commons today as she recounted how her daughter was stillborn.
In an emotional speech, Sharon Hodgson said her baby Lucy "just couldn’t make the final push into this world" and never got a birth certificate because she "didn’t exist" officially.
The Washington and Sunderland West MP received an outpouring of support from fellow MPs - including a Tory who said Lucy "would have been very proud of her mummy today".
Ms Hodgson made the powerful speech in a debate on the Civil Partnerships, Marriages and Deaths Bill, which says the Government must carry out a review of registering babies stillborn before 24 weeks.
She said of Lucy - who would have been 20 this year: "She was a baby who was sadly born dead…
"Her heart beated throughout my labour, just up until minutes before she was born. She just couldn’t make the final push into this world.
"Because of that and because of a matter of a few days, she doesn’t officially exist in any records other than in our memories and in our records."
She added: "There was no flashing blue lights, no incubator and no birthday parties ever…
"And as I found out, to my horror, no birth or death certificate.
"So, as I held her in my arms and had to come to terms with what had just happened, I also had to come to terms with the fact that she didn’t officially exist, and I would not be getting any certificate of her arrival or death."
Tory Will Quince said the Labour MP had made a "brave and powerful speech", adding: "If she doesn’t mind me saying, Lucy would have been very proud of her mummy today."
Other MPs took to Twitter to heap praise on their colleague.
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