Diane described a situation in which a breastfeeding mother was
harassed in a state where breastfeeding in public is protected by
law. We face similar situations here in Madison and Dane County, WI,
where similarly-worded legislation was passed a year ago at both the
city and county level. (Our proposed state law is stuck in
committee, held hostage by a legislator committee head who is hostile
to the bill.) Apparently a lot of people have not heard of it, and
people continue to face situations like the one Diane described.
I asked the city council member who sponsored the breastfeeding in
public bill what should be done when a mother is harassed. She said
first of all, after explaining the law that protects her right to
breastfeed, the mother should ask the person telling her that she
must stop or leave the premises to put it in writing. This is
because in later reconstructions of the incident, the person may deny
that they ever told the mother that, or may say that the mother
misunderstood. The next step is to report the incident to the
appropriate authorities - the police or sheriff's department, or
whatever.
I feel this puts an undue burden on the mother, but it apparently is
the most effective way to handle it in the long run.
I have no information on how this actually works out, as I've not
talked with anyone who has tried it. It's something I would not have
thought of.
To see what the legislation is for each state in the US, see:
National Conference of State Legislatures web site, with laws on
breastfeeding for every state:
http://www.ncsl.org/programs/health/breast50.htm
and/or
La Leche League Web Site: Breastfeeding and the Law:
http://www.llli.org/Law/LawUS.html?m=0,1,0
Anne Altshuler, RN, MS, IBCLC, LLL leader
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