Denmark MP Pernille Skipper ordered out of parliament for bringing baby

Danish MP Pernille Skipper of the Red-Green Alliance was ordered to leave the parliamentary chamber after bringing her baby to the hearing on Thursday. Skipper confirmed the incident but made no further comment. Pia Kjrsgaard, who was Acting Speaker at the time, refused to comment, but sarcastically labelled Skipper's "peaceful, sleeping baby" as "the worst headache" of her. According to the daily Ekstra Bladet, Kjrsgaard used two post-it notes provided to her by an assistant to urge Skipper to leave the room. 

Kjrsgaard told the newspaper that they have only just recently discussed this in the praesidium since various members of parliament have raised the fact that Pernille Skipper has brought her infant with her on multiple occasions, according to Sputnik. She further said that everyone knows you don't do things like that, claiming that she was surprised that Skipper needed to be reminded of this.

Kjrsgaard's actions were legitimate

Kjrsgaard's actions, according to Speaker Henrik Dam Kristensen, were legitimate. He said that as praesidium decided in 2019 that babies do not belong in the legislative chamber. He also said that they hadn't changed their minds on that. Pernille Skipper has been ordered to leave parliament for the second time in recent years after bringing their child to a debate, according to Sputnik. Pia Kjrsgaard was, coincidentally, engaged in both cases.

In another case, Mette Abildgaard, a Conservative MP, was also told to leave the parliament chamber with her infant daughter in March 2019. This incident prompted an international controversy and a period of self-examination in a country regarded as a leader in women's rights. Recently in a similar incident, New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern was praised for bringing her baby to the United Nations General Assembly; also, an Icelandic MP made headlines for breastfeeding during a speech.

Who is Pernille Skipper?

Pernille Skipper is a Danish politician who is a member of the Folketing. She served as the Red-Green Alliance's political spokeswoman from 2016 to 2021, succeeding Johanne Schmidt-Nielsen. Skipper was involved in student politics, serving as chairman of the high school student council and vice chairman of the student council at the University of Copenhagen. Since 2001, she has been a member of the Red-Green Alliance, and in 2011, she was elected to the Folketing.

Image: Instagram/@pernille_skipper