A national bill championed by Illinois Senator Tammy Duckworth has been signed into law.
Yesterday, President Joe Biden signed the bipartisan legislation banning the sale of padded crib bumpers.
The Safe Cribs Act, which was included in the legislation also banning dangerous inclined sleeper products, would make it unlawful nationwide to manufacture and import crib bumpers, which remain widely sold by retailers despite current recommendations advising parents to keep cribs bare to prevent sudden infant death syndrome.
According to a press release from Duckworth’s office, since 1985, crib bumpers have accounted for more than a dozen infant deaths and more than 100 serious injuries.
The legislation would direct the Consumer Product Safety Commission to enforce a ban on padded crib bumpers nationwide and immediately have them taken off shelves around the country.
Duckworth says that it eliminates confusion for new parents who see the products on shelves and believe them to be harmless products despite being otherwise.
Duckworth notably became the first sitting U.S. Senator to give birth to a child while in office in 2018. She has since championed several laws aimed at helping young parents, mothers, and infants during her tenure in office.