Hello Lactnetters,
Today i had the new and fun experience of testifying at a state senate
hearing in support of breastfeeding legislation, SB744, which is a very
basic bill that gives women the right to breastfeed in public.
  One of the female Senators on the committee said her opinion was that
the committe ought to "gut and stuff"  this bill, I could tell this had a
negative connotation, but I didn't have a chance to find out what this
meant til after I testified.  Her idea is that the committe should remove
the existing language and replace it with some kind of proclamation that
would create a state Breastfeeding Awareness Month.  Her rationale is
that women already have the right to breastfeed in public(true, it is a
civil right), and since we cannot legislate other kinds of desirable
behavior, why do it for bfdg, and that women ought to stand up for the
rights they already have.  This inspite of the fact that two of the
people who testified were assertive, articulate mothers who had been
harassed for nursing in public within the last year in Oregon.
  So, the committee chair needs to hear this message from all you Oregon
bfdg advocates: Please, Do Not Gut and Stuff SB744!  It is true that the
right to breastfeed in public is already protected by law, but this
protection is implicit.  We need to send the public an EXPLICIT message
that bfdg is normal and OK.  Otherwise ignorant people will continue to
harass mothers who are feeding their hungry children.  His name is Bill
Fisher, his phone is 503-986-1723.
TIA from
Martha Johnson RN IBCLC
Eugene, OR
PS to Robin:  can you forward this email to the other folks on your list?
 Thanks!

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