Kelley Robinson, president of the Human Rights Campaign, and her wife, Becky George, are pregnant with their second child, theGrio reports exclusively. The married political advocacy duo – dubbed a “power couple” by first lady Dr. Jill Biden – is expecting a baby girl in April 2025.
“It just feels amazing to have the privilege and the ability to kind of design our own family,” said Robinson, the first Black, queer woman to lead HRC, which is the largest LGBTQ+ civil rights group in the country.
Kelley and Becky’s pregnancy is profound as it comes during a peculiar time for LGBTQ+ Americans and communities of color as President-elect Donald Trump will soon enter the White House. Republicans have targeted marginalized groups through anti-racial equity and anti-LGBTQ+ legislation and policies, including bans in classrooms, school sports, and access to critical health care.
By all accounts, the married couple sees their growing family as a symbol of hope that transcends politics.
“Even though we’re going through a rough, challenging patch, especially for queer people, especially for queer folks of color, you got to believe that something is possible on the other side,” said Kelley. “Building our family right now is us prioritizing our joy, even in the midst of a world that wants to silence that.”
Movement work, whether for civil rights or reproductive rights, is at the core of Kelley and Becky’s relationship. The couple first met while working at Planned Parenthood, where Kelley worked as an organizer for the national office in Washington, D.C., and Becky worked as a sex educator for an affiliate office in Seattle. Kelley came to visit Becky’s office to speak for “Youth Lobby Day.”
“If you know anything about Kelley, she is a powerful public speaker. People who had asked her to come out were raving about her. And I was like, ‘Who is this Kelley Robinson coming out to speak?’” recalled Becky, who said she was “trying to play it cool” when they first met. But after the two were assigned to get wine for an evening happy hour, the magic between them was undeniable.
She continued, “Kelley and I went to the local grocery store, and we’re walking down the wine aisle – and this is the way Kelley tells it – both her and I reached at the same time for the Lamarca prosecco bottles, and they were on sale, and … our hands touched.”
“There was a spark,” said Kelley. “I looked into her eyes and melted away.”
The couple went on to create Planned Parenthood’s first-ever staff of color national retreat. As Becky recalled, “We worked really well together at that moment and really thinking about, even in the repro movement, how might we center folks of color and bring them together to make that movement even stronger than it already is.”
Ironically, Kelley and Becky relied on reproductive health services that many women and families are struggling to access amid abortion bans in nearly half of the nation’s 50 states. This was particularly evident in Alabama, where its total abortion ban led to a state Supreme Court ruling that restricted IVF access.
The couple used reciprocal IVF – in which Kelley conceived with an embryo using Becky’s egg – to get pregnant with their daughter, as well as their 3-year-old son, Izaiah, who is “very excited” to be a big brother (so much so that he told his moms his little sister needs to “hurry up”). While Becky was supposed to carry the couple’s second child, she unfortunately suffered three failed IVFs and a miscarriage earlier this year, so their plans shifted.
“It was a really devastating moment for us,” Becky told theGrio. “[It] made me angry about the state of our country a little bit. I can’t believe that there are women out there who are having miscarriages and unable to get the health care that they need.”
Luckily for them, Becky said jokingly, “Kelley is a fertile myrtle.” She added, “We knew that this was something that we wanted to do, and Kelley was willing to try.”
“I’m very thankful, given how busy our lives are and how wild her work is, that she was still willing to do it and that she was able to get pregnant again,” said Becky. “Maybe I’ll try again later, but I doubt it. I think the miscarriage burned me in that way.”
Kelley noted that what their family went through with pregnancy and IVF mirrors the experiences of many families across the country. However, she noted, adding, “When you talk about access to reproductive health care, I think it includes the ability to have kids and the ability to choose not to have kids.”
“A lot of families really go through significant challenges when trying to build their family,” said Kelley, who called for expanding health insurance through Medicaid and state-funded programs and reducing co-pays.
Despite their loss, Kelley and Becky expressed gratitude for the ability to bring their second child into the world.
“The lives that Becky and I live were utterly impossible, even 20 years ago,” Kelley shared. “The idea that we’re married, that we can own a house together, that we could even think about how we wanted to design our family, and then have the resources through health insurance and other tools that allow us to actually do it.”
During her prime-time speech at this year’s Democratic National Committee, most viewers didn’t know that Kelley was early in her pregnancy journey. This historic night, where Vice President Kamala Harris was nominated to be at the top of the party’s presidential ticket, would be unforgettable for the couple for multiple reasons.
“It was amazing. I was pretty nauseous before and after because I was navigating the first trimester of morning sickness,” Kelley shared with theGrio. “It was just incredible to me, especially when I look back on it.”
The moment was also particularly special for the couple as Becky, who also appeared on the DNC stage virtually, is of Indian descent, and Kelley is Black, comprising the racial and ethnic makeup of Harris.
“As proud as I was, you know, just to represent the Human Rights Campaign, I was also really proud that day to represent my family in ways that people couldn’t even see,” said Kelley.
While many Democrats and Harris supporters remain heartbroken by her loss to Donald Trump in the 2024 election, Kelley Robinson is steadfast.
“It didn’t happen yet. That does not mean it’s not going to happen,” she said. “We attempted to do something remarkable in about 100 days; not only the first woman but the first Black woman, the first South Asian person ever to the highest office of the land.”
She continued, “Even though we came short, we showed what’s possible in a lot of ways.”
As the couple prepares to welcome their baby girl, Robinson said she is “excited for her to be a part of that progress.”
“Fighting for it has always been part of our history and our birthright, and that’s like a legacy that I’m excited to bring this little girl into,” she added. “And even though the world, you know, isn’t where we want it to be just yet, I think that she can be a part of helping us to get it there.”
“I’m excited to bring my pregnant self out to these rallies,” Kelley declared. “I can show what it is that we’re fighting for. I’m excited to have a little baby on my hip while we go down and lobby whoever we have to lobby because this is who our families are.”
Gerren Keith Gaynor is a White House Correspondent and the Managing Editor of Politics at theGrio. He is based in Washington, D.C.