WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) and U.S. Representative Jan Schakowsky (D-IL-09), along with Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Representatives Bobby Rush (D-IL-01) and Robin Kelly (D-IL-02), introduced legislation to protect babies’ lives by banning the sale of crib bumpers in the United States. The Safe Cribs Act would also make it unlawful to manufacture and import crib bumpers, which are marketed as necessary for infant safety even though 48 babies have died as a result of suffocation attributed to them between 1985 and 2012, and 146 infants have been injured. While current recommendations advise parents to keep cribs bare to prevent sudden infant death syndrome, crib bumpers remain widely sold by retailers.

“The fact that these deadly products can still be found on shelves across the country is extremely confusing to new parents who don’t believe stores would be selling them if they are truly dangerous to their children,” Duckworth said. “This is a critical safety issue and I’m proud to be working with my colleagues to pass this bill to help new parents and end these preventable deaths.”

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“It’s past time for the country to recognize what Chicago long ago knew: crib bumpers aren’t safe and shouldn’t be in cribs,” said Schakowsky. “I am proud to introduce the Safe Cribs Act in the House with two of my colleagues from Chicago, Bobby Rush and Robin Kelly. And I thank my friend and fellow Illinoisan Senator Duckworth for leading this effort in the Senate. Together, we will work hard to ensure that no more children die from these unsafe products.”

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“Sudden infant death syndrome, or SIDS, and other sleep deaths tragically claim the lives of too many newborns in America,” Durbin said. “We now know that keeping a crib bare can help reduce the chances of death or injury. The American Academy of Pediatrics has recommended a ban on crib bumpers to reduce the risk of SIDS and sleep deaths. Our bill sets out to follow in the footsteps of a law in Chicago that outlawed the sale of crib bumpers. A parent’s upmost concern is protecting their infant from harm, and this bill takes an important step to prevent these awful tragedies.”

The legislation is also co-sponsored by Senators Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), and Ben Cardin (D-MD).

The legislation has been endorsed by the American Academy of Pediatrics, Consumer Federation of America and Kids in Danger. In 2011, the City of Chicago became the first city to ban the sale of crib bumpers. Maryland and Ohio also banned the sale of these products in 2013 and 2017 respectively, with minor exceptions. The Senators’ legislation would require the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) to enforce a ban nationwide.

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