I am pleased to announce that Wisconsin has a new "Right to  
Breastfeed Act" that was signed into law by Governor James Doyle today.

The language of the law is:

A mother may breast-feed her child in any public or private location  
where the mother and child are otherwise authorized to be. In such a  
location, no person may prohibit a mother from breast-feeding her  
child, direct a mother to move to another location to breast-feed her  
child, direct a mother to cover her child or breast while breast- 
feeding, or otherwise restrict a mother from breast-feeding.
  A person who interferes with that right is subject to a forfeiture  
not to exceed $200 under the general penalty provision under current  
law.



This was a long time in coming (didn't pass in the 2007 session and  
was brought back in the 2009 session, when a change in leadership of  
one house gave it a better chance to get voted out of a committee)  
and represents the hard work of many, many people, from the mothers  
who initially contacted their state legislators for help after being  
harassed for breastfeeding, to the lawmakers who took their concerns  
seriously and worked to craft legislation to address them, to the  
health professionals and breastfeeding advocates who travelled to the  
State Capitol (sometimes on many occasions) to testify on behalf of  
the bill, to the many mothers, fathers and babies who came to  
register or speak in favor of the bill and lend the support of their  
presence, to the many who wrote, emailed or called their legislators  
to urge them to vote in favor.

Having sat through many of the hearings and debates over the bill, I  
wonder that anything ever gets passed!  besides long and dedicated  
efforts by many, it also involves an element of luck and timing.

I tried to listen carefully to the objections raised by opponents of  
the bill.  Every objection to the bill was phrased in terms of, "I  
fully support breastfeeding, but......"

This statement, from the web site of Wisconsin Family Action, a group  
that "focuses on issues that impact traditional families" that sought  
to rally opposition to the breastfeeding bill, sums up commonly  
expressed objections from opponents of the bill:



”The unfortunate experiences of a few breastfeeding women do not  
necessarily merit the establishment of a new law that does not take  
into account the uncomfortable situation a woman can create if she  
exposes her breasts in public, even if the exposure is for  
breastfeeding… WFA suggests that instead of creating an arbitrary  
law and penalty as a knee-jerk reaction to a few reported incidents,  
the legislature consider a more far-reaching method of promoting  
healthy breastfeeding; such as full disclosure of the benefits of  
breastfeeding to new mothers; developing and implementing a  
breastfeeding awareness campaign; requiring shopping malls, airports,  
public service government centers and other select locations to  
create designated areas for breastfeeding and diaper changing that  
are not bathrooms…. Breastfeeding is a natural thing but that does  
not mean it has to take place in a public setting without any regard  
to discretion or modesty and with no regard for others, including  
children and young people, who may have no way to avoid the situation.



WFA unequivocally supports breastfeeding but respectfully requests  
that members of the State Legislature either stop this unnecessary  
‘big brother’ bill or provide a modesty amendment to SB 16.”

So, now that the bill is passed and signed, we are in a celebratory  
mood!  Wisconsin becomes the 44th US state to have legislation that  
specifically protects breastfeeding in any public or private  
location.  Previously we had a law, signed in 1996, that exempted  
breastfeeding from the definition of lewd behavior or sexual  
gratification in public.  That law had not protected mothers from  
being harassed for breastfeeding.



Anne Altshuler, RN, MS, IBCLC, LLLL

Madison, WI, USA

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