Breast-Feeding: Private Act or Public Right?

[Angel Heart]

http://www.parenting.com/parenting/mom/article/0,19840,647783_2,00.html?

The right to breastfeed wherever you are


If you have a right to be somewhere with your baby, you have a right to breastfeed there.

It's the law. Kerry Madden-Lunsford, a Los Angeles writer, was nursing 3-month-old Norah under a turtleneck and sweater in the children's section of a bookstore when a clerk told her, "You can't do that in here." Then a store manager suggested the rest room. "What was I supposed to do?" Madden-Lunsford says. "Leave my two older children alone? Or gather everyone and head to the toilet to nurse?" She chose to leave the store. "I just kept thinking how unfair it was. You just go through such humiliation."

What Madden-Lunsford didn't know at the time was this: "As a rule, if you have a right to be somewhere with your baby, you have a right to breastfeed," says Elizabeth Baldwin, a Florida attorney and La Leche League leader who is a national expert on breastfeeding and the law. According to Baldwin, the rule holds true whether or not your state has a law that protects a woman's right to breastfeed in public. (Almost half of states, including California, have passed such laws; to learn if yours has, check La Leche League Summary of Breastfeeding Legislation.)

Baldwin says there are a few places, such as courtrooms, where babies aren't allowed, so obviously, women don't have a right to breastfeed there. But in the vast majority of public places — such as stores, restaurants, parks, and malls — women are legally allowed to breastfeed. While many moms prefer to nurse in a quiet corner, a turned-around chair, or under a blanket, they need not go to great efforts to hide what they're doing.

If someone asks you to leave a public place where you and your baby have a right to be, Baldwin says that you can take action on the spot, perhaps by asking, "Is it okay to give my baby a bottle?" If the answer is yes, the next logical question is, "Then it should be okay to breastfeed, right?" (One mom was more blunt. When asked to take her nursing child into the rest room, she zinged back: "Would you go to the bathroom to eat your lunch?")

If you feel bold, consider reminding the establishment that the law is on your side. Say, "I have a legal right to breastfeed my baby in public. We'll be done in 15 minutes." If the staff still won't budge, you may want to leave and send them a letter later. Battling it out on the spot may not be worth the upset to you and your child.

Madden-Lunsford, who thinks that those who oppose breastfeeding are usually not malicious, just uninformed, took her battle a step further. She went so far as to file a lawsuit against the bookstore, which was later settled. In an encouraging turn of events, the company educated its employees about breastfeeding and even posted notices in store windows saying that breastfeeding moms were welcome.

It's not a privilege. It's a RIGHT!

I'm proud to say I was part of changing of the laws in California. The laws protecting the mother and child's right to breastfeed in public didn't get put in place until 1997. Now 3/4ths of all new mommies nurse their babies. I know most don't make it through the first year but more and more are. Our society will be better because of it. Higher IQ, healthier immune systems etc etc come from breastfeeding our children. Human milk for human babies.

 

[dilloduck]

Well, until YOU start having to wear a shirt everywhere you go, and the "nipple popping out" of YOUR tank top becomes this MAJOR ISSUE, then you dont really have a leg to stand on. Men have nipples, and so do women. Its NOT an issue to you, if a woman is showing the REST of her breast, asidr FROM the nipple area. BFD!!! So her nipple shows for a few minutes! I'm sure youve been to some bikini or wet T shirt contest. Grow up. Just because THESE women are NOURISHING a baby's stomach rather than your OGLING EYES, doesnt mean JACK.
If the sight of a womans breasts are such a big friggin issue for you, why not try to outlaw these bikinis that show the bottoms or sides of breasts, or try to outlaw the wet t shirt contests? I know why, because you think that women should only be here to serve you, and thats all. Once we have stretch marks and tummy rolls, we are only useful for cooking your dinners, cleaning your house, and picking up your skid marked underwear, isnt that right?
Get over yourself. I am so sick of all the male supremacy mysoginy on here. GAWD.

You ain't gonna beat us all up are ya?

 

[Gunny]

PS It IS NOT a privilage to breastfeed in public. It is all a part of the NATURAL HUMAN NEED. It is no more a privilage to breastfeed ones baby in public than it is a privilage to have sex with someone youre attracted to in private, which by the way, is how babies are made. For gods sake, what is your problem!!! Do you talk to your mother this way? Your sister?

What happened with your family? Your dad used to beat the crap out of your mom, and as a result, you no longer have any sensibility about you, or respect for women?

You're a little extreme on this issue to say the least.

Is it allowable, or considered "good form" to eat in a public swimming pool? No, it's against the rules of any I have ever been to.

You don't bring your lunch to church and eat during the sermon.

It's quite appropriate to regulate breast-feeding with some moderation and common sense, just as most people do in most other endeavors.

 

[Angel Heart]

I was asked to leave a public mall's food court due to nursing my oldest. He was 3 months old and completely covered. How is that an inappropriate location? It's where the rest of us eat. I was approached by security and asked to "leave or take it in the bathroom". This was a common attack on nursing mothers and their children. Now, thanks to groups like La Leche League, we have laws protecting the rights of mothers and children. We used nurse in's to get our message across. We got that message across so well that the state made it a law to leave nursing mothers and their children alone.

 

[Gem]

Angel Heart,

I agree with you completely that women have the right to breastfeed wherever they need to...I have never argued otherwise. I do not feel they should be harassed for trying to nourish their child and they should not be shoved into bathrooms while they do it.

I do think, however, that just as passerbys should give a nursing mother a break and leave her alone while she is nursing...that she should show similar respect for others by nursing as discreetly as is convenient. I do not think people expect a woman to pitch a tent and hide herself in it - but likewise I don't think it is uncalled for to have a nursing mother drape a light blanket over herself and her child, or turn her chair, go to a quiet corner, etc. That way the child can eat in peace, the mother won't be bothered by assholes...everyone wins.

I think that some in this thread have taken any opposition towards public breastfeeding as implying that the person wants breastfeeding women to hide in their homes and not come out until the child can eat steak....but that is so far from the truth its ridiculous. I think most people here are just stating that there is a middle ground...one that gives the utmost respect to ALL people. And isn't that what we are shooting for in our public spaces...situations where ALL people can be accommodated comfortably and respectfully?

 

[Gunny]

I was asked to leave a public mall's food court due to nursing my oldest. He was 3 months old and completely covered. How is that an inappropriate location? It's where the rest of us eat. I was approached by security and asked to "leave or take it in the bathroom". This was a common attack on nursing mothers and their children. Now, thanks to groups like La Leche League, we have laws protecting the rights of mothers and children. We used nurse in's to get our message across. We got that message across so well that the state made it a law to leave nursing mothers and their children alone.

One, I wouldn't want MY wife nursing a kid in public. It doesn't matter how strongly you want to stand on what you feel is right ... what matters is "what is." Our society is oversexed, and the human female breast is regarded as a sex object.

I personally don't understand why this has to be such a big deal, but it is, on BOTH sides. Those who think they should be able to do whatever they want whenever and wherever, and those who take offense to each and every thing.

 

[mattskramer]

It is no more a privilage to breastfeed ones baby in public than it is a privilage to have sex with someone youre attracted to in private, which by the way, is how babies are made.

Uh. You switched the terms “public” and “private” invalidating the comparison. Is it no more a privilege to breastfeed one’s baby in public than it is a privilege to have sex with someone you’re attracted to in public?

 

[Angel Heart]

One, I wouldn't want MY wife nursing a kid in public. It doesn't matter how strongly you want to stand on what you feel is right ... what matters is "what is." Our society is oversexed, and the human female breast is regarded as a sex object.

I personally don't understand why this has to be such a big deal, but it is, on BOTH sides. Those who think they should be able to do whatever they want whenever and wherever, and those who take offense to each and every thing.

What if your wife had no issue with it? What about her thoughts on it all?

 

[Shattered]

What if your wife had no issue with it? What about her thoughts on it all?

One would *think* ones wife would have enough respect for ones husband to not do something he obviously disapproves of, or seriously doesn't like, for whatever reason.

 

[dilloduck]

One would *think* ones wife would have enough respect for ones husband to not do something he obviously disapproves of, or seriously doesn't like, for whatever reason.

Well if it wasn't for men we could all run around naked and do anything we wanted. Those bastards !

 

[actsnoblemartin]

my point is be respectful about it, and do it discreetly, dont be flashing your tits, and having an attitude. You know you can be a jerk in public too, doesnt mean you should.

Common sense is all i ask.

http://www.ncsl.org/programs/health/breast50.htm



If you even bug a breastfeeding mom you might be on the wrong side of the law.

 

[Gunny]

What if your wife had no issue with it? What about her thoughts on it all?

I think I should be given the same consideration I have to give about her dislike for my not wearing a shirt in public.

If I'm "displaying the goods," what's SHE doing?

 

[MassageGirl]

Uh. You switched the terms “public” and “private” invalidating the comparison. Is it no more a privilege to breastfeed one’s baby in public than it is a privilege to have sex with someone you’re attracted to in public?

Nope I didnt switch anything. I said it that way to specifically make a point. Some people on here think that breastfeeding is a "privilage" (wheres the damn spell check on this, lol) to do in public. I think not. No more than having sex in PRIVATE is a privilage.

And as far as you men showing your own nipples in public (by the way, I will say it again, if some men can grow breasts, and still go topless in public, it is not an issue about BREASTS, it is an issue about equal rights) I think its just fine, personally, but all nipples were created equal, so mine should just as easily be allowed to be exposed to the elements should I so choose to air them out. Hell, its even a "concern" to many people that a woman wear a BRA. Now see? A mans nipples can be causing two little bumps in his shirt, and thats all good and fine, but if a woman isnt wearing a bra, its a big issue, why? Because some of you men cant just keep it in your friggin pants?

Grow up!!! Theyre NIPPLES. You have em too!!! Hell, and as far as chest size goes, there are many beefy men out there that can go shirtless, and beat a small breasted woman in chest AND nipple size, so PLEEEEEEEEEASE tell me what the big deal is? (Except the fact that you men want us women to be your personal sexual gatekeepers still!!!) Have some personal accountability, PLEASE.

1 more example, just to top this camels back with a feather, and also because I now feel as though I am beating a dead horse:

If you dont want to see people kissing in public, you dont go rushing off to the courthouse, or writing letters to your state congressman trying to make kissing in public illegal. If you dont want to see it, YOU DONT LOOK. Pretty easy, right. If I dont care for looking at some shirtless guy with a fat belly and hair everywhere, I dont look. Do the same service for me and the rest of the women. If you dont care to see it, simply avert your gaze. =)

 

[Angel Heart]

Dang you're on a roll...

ITA!!!!

 

[Ruby]

I would agree, and since im an uncle, since only a few days ago, my sister will breast feed, so, i dont mind breast feeding in public as long as its done as discreetly as possible. I think mothers need to know its a privalege, not a right to breast feed in public, in other words, dont abuse it.

Actually it is a RIGHT and a RIGHT because it provides needed nutrition for a young baby. Anyone with hang-ups should be the ones hiding away and not join the public since they have so much trouble with all the things they might see.

Its also pretty funny how you begrudingly "allow" it since it now affects someone close to YOU.

LOL dont abuse it??? Tell that to a hungry baby who NEEDS the nutrients to live, grow and thrive.

Breast feeding cannot be compared to whipping out your dick either, women are doing so to perform an act that provides vital nutrition for a small growing human being. The purpose it serves matters a great deal here.

Common decency is a very subjective concept btw and everchanging, I personally wouldnt define getting "offended" over a mother feeding her baby to be displaying any kind of common decency but more like a display of a judgemental repressed tight ass, but thats just me.

 

[Angel Heart]

Actually it's growth for him. He came out totally against it before.

 

[Ruby]

Actually it's growth for him. He came out totally against it before.

For some reason that gives me a chuckle, dont know why but it does.

 

[Gunny]

Nope I didnt switch anything. I said it that way to specifically make a point. Some people on here think that breastfeeding is a "privilage" (wheres the damn spell check on this, lol) to do in public. I think not. No more than having sex in PRIVATE is a privilage.

And as far as you men showing your own nipples in public (by the way, I will say it again, if some men can grow breasts, and still go topless in public, it is not an issue about BREASTS, it is an issue about equal rights) I think its just fine, personally, but all nipples were created equal, so mine should just as easily be allowed to be exposed to the elements should I so choose to air them out. Hell, its even a "concern" to many people that a woman wear a BRA. Now see? A mans nipples can be causing two little bumps in his shirt, and thats all good and fine, but if a woman isnt wearing a bra, its a big issue, why? Because some of you men cant just keep it in your friggin pants?

Grow up!!! Theyre NIPPLES. You have em too!!! Hell, and as far as chest size goes, there are many beefy men out there that can go shirtless, and beat a small breasted woman in chest AND nipple size, so PLEEEEEEEEEASE tell me what the big deal is? (Except the fact that you men want us women to be your personal sexual gatekeepers still!!!) Have some personal accountability, PLEASE.

1 more example, just to top this camels back with a feather, and also because I now feel as though I am beating a dead horse:

If you dont want to see people kissing in public, you dont go rushing off to the courthouse, or writing letters to your state congressman trying to make kissing in public illegal. If you dont want to see it, YOU DONT LOOK. Pretty easy, right. If I dont care for looking at some shirtless guy with a fat belly and hair everywhere, I dont look. Do the same service for me and the rest of the women. If you dont care to see it, simply avert your gaze. =)

You need to grow up. You can attempt to ignore the oversexed society we live in you want, but it doesn't make it go away.

Since it i still illegal to expose a female breast in many places, it most certainly is NOT a right.

Breastfeeding in this case is actually secondary to your feminazi attitude. Just like every other extremist, reality doesn't count, and who you offend doesn't matter just so long as you get to do what you've decided you're going to do.

 

[Ruby]

You need to grow up. You can attempt to ignore the oversexed society we live in you want, but it doesn't make it go away.

Since it i still illegal to expose a female breast in many places, it most certainly is NOT a right.

Breastfeeding in this case is actually secondary to your feminazi attitude. Just like every other extremist, reality doesn't count, and who you offend doesn't matter just so long as you get to do what you've decided you're going to do.

The society is oversexed so a baby shouldnt be fed? Keeping a naked breast from public view is more important than a baby getting its NEEDED food?

Its not about "so long as you get to do what you've decided to do", its FEEDING your child and last time I checked we are against "not feeding" our children since humans need FOOD to live.

Its better to fix such a screwed up society than to ask a baby to not eat when it needs and mothers to not feed their children.

 

[Angel Heart]

In Oregon it's not...

http://www.llli.org/Law/Bills32.html

ORS § 109.001
1999 Ore. ALS 306; 1999 Ore. Laws 306; 1999 Ore. SB 744

A woman may breastfeed her child in a public place.

How's that for a simple law. Notice there's nothing about requiring her to cover up. No body around here cares. You go to the malls around here, most likely you will see at least one mom nursing in public. Some not covering up at all. No one cares. No one approaches them. It's a non-issue.

ORS § 10.050
999 Ore. ALS 1085; 1999 Ore. Laws 1085; 1999 Ore. SB 1304

... (4) a Judge of the Court or Clerk of Court shall excuse a woman from acting as a juror upon the request of the woman if the woman is breastfeeding a child. A request for excuse from jury service under this subsection must be made in writing...

Makes sense. I like how they made it child and not baby.