I am going to address Linda's concern about NY's bill, and give you info on showing this bill to others, and others that may be better. For those that aren't going to read this entire note, let me start by saying: *** I am NOT sure that the penalties for violating a mother's civil rights are a $5000 fine. I believe that this figure came from an erroneous AP report. If you are going to share the NY law with someone, DELETE THAT PARAGRAPH AT THE END TELLING WHAT THE FINE IS - unless the original poster is going to verify that with an attorney licensed to practice civil rights law in NY. *** There are other and better bills to show people if you are using this for a point. Texas is a good one - covers not only breastfeeding in public, but employment, and even provides an incentive to the private sector to encouarge women to continue breastfeeding when they return to work. Nevada is a good one because it not only updates the preambles, but puts them into their law. *** If you want to educate someone about legislation, how about showing them articles on legislation? You all have two of mine on the Web, and one of them is updated to include all states that have legislation enacted. It also describes the language of their bills, and gives a brief intro on why we have legislation, and what it means. You all have permission to copy these and give them to whoever needs them. Linda, You are NOT wet behind the ears but... there is more to consider before we draw conclusions from that. >Thank you for posting the content of the NY law! I was one who saw >gobble-dee-gook and appreciate the chance to read the text. However, I am >sorry that the NY law (which is otherwise so wonderful) prefaces itself >with the comments that bf is recommended from birth to one year of age. >Yes, that's what the SG said and it does lend some weight to the law. Sorry for being behind on initials, but what is SG? >However, mothers nursing older children often feel less able to nurse in >public than those nursing children under the age of one. Well - just because they have that in the preamble doesn't mean the law is restricted to under age one. However, we all know that babies under one are the ones that HAVE to nurse that very minute, and the older our babies are the more patient they (sometimes) are... And those nursing past age two or three, well, rarely do we want to make a big statement about it in public. However, there is not as much to fear as you may think. >Not only do they >have to deal with the social issues of decency but also those of bf being >sexual/abuse. I think this depends on the age of the child. Nursing a 5 year old or a 7 year old in public could cause a bit of a stir, given that society does not understand extended breastfeeding. BUT no social service agency in the US has determined that extended breastfeeding is abuse/neglect. NONE. And the issue has been dealt with through age 8! You might want to read my article "Extended Breastfeeding and the Law", up on the web off of LLLI's webpage, off of Breastfeeding and the Law. In New York, people may be more concerned after the Denise Perrigo case of years ago. But she was NOT found guilty of neglect for extended breastfeeding. There were other issues in her case that resulted in a judge ruling that way - it had to do with sexual issues, NOT extended breastfeeding. Even the Judge was reported to say that he was breastfed until age 3! >This lends an aspect of fear (will my child be taken away?) >to the already loaded issues of convenience/cleanliness/segregation etc. >It is a shame that so strong a law implies (and it is not stated but is >implied through the preface) that bf is only important through the first >year. The reason it talks about one year is that NY law was patterned after Florida's 1993 law. NY took Fla. bill changed maybe one or two words, and then put it under the civil rights act. But the preambles are NOT part of the law. The only thing on the books in NY is: "Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a mother may breast feed her baby in any location, public or private, where the mother is otherwise authorized to be, irrespective of whether or not the nipple of the mother's breast is covered during or incidental to the breast feeding." My disappointment with NY law was NOT the preambles (no one really looks at those anyway), but two other issues: one is the language of 'baby' - Utah solved that problem by not saying what we breastfeed - after all, we can't breastfeed puppies, so why talk about what? Utah talks about "a woman's breastfeeding". However, fear not because the word baby can be construed to be as long as the child is breastfed - even an infant is a minor child in many states... and the former surgeon general with her statement about a 'Lucky baby that gets to nurse till age 2...".). My second gripe is that the actual law eliminated the language that Florida kept in: "Breastfeeding is an important and basic act of nurture which must be encouarged in the interests of maternal and child health, and family values." I wish that EVERY state would put this language on the books. Then it could be used in more situations than just nursing in public. Other bills since then have updated the preambles. Look at Nevada, who put the preambles in their law! And they talk about the study indicating that if all women breastfed all their kids till age 2, that breast cancer could decline by 25% in this country! For a brief summary of other state's laws, see my articles on legislation on the Web. >This implies that if you go longer there is "something else going >on" and plays into the hands of those feeling that bfing older children is >deviant. Not necessarily so, and we professionals should ASSUME and ENCOURAGE mothers to NOT interpret the law in that way. Again, this is just in the preamble. Not in the actual law. And just because it validates breastfeeding till age one, doesn't mean it isn't important after one. Liz Baldwin _______________________ Elizabeth N. Baldwin, Esq. Baldwin & Friedman, P.A. 2020 N.E. 163rd St. # 300 N. Miami Beach, Fla. 33162-4970 Phone: 305-944-9100 Home office: 954-929-9090 Fax: 305-949-9029 [log in to unmask] http://www.parentsplace.com/shopping/esq/index.html Breastfeeding and the Law: http://www.lalecheleague.org/LawMain.html