Exposed breasts. They are all over the media: in
movies, magazines, even television. But put a nursing infant anywhere near those
breasts and suddenly some people are offended.
Women who choose to nurse their babies in public
often fear that they're going to be asked to leave or even arrested. But federal
and state lawmakers are attempting to make it clear that women don't have to
worry about balancing handcuffs and nursing bras.
What many people do not know is that breastfeeding
in public is legal in every state. A mother does not need to "cover up" or go
somewhere more private. More than half of states have laws specifically
protecting this right, but even in those that do not, it is still legal to
breastfeed in public.
Breastfeeding laws fall generally into two
categories. Some states simply exclude breastfeeding in public from the state's
criminal laws regarding indecent exposure or obscenity, so that a woman cannot
be charged criminally for nursing in public. In these states, a woman who is
harassed for breastfeeding in public can sue under other laws, such as those
prohibiting sex discrimination in places of public accommodation.
Other states, such as New York and California, offer stronger protection in the
form of civil statutes protecting a woman's right to breastfeed in public. Under
these laws, mothers may sue for civil rights violations if they are prevented
from breastfeeding in public. Federal law also protects nursing mothers,
although it only ensures them the right to breastfeed in public if they are on
federal property.
Recognizing that discrimination against nursing mothers is a national issue with
implications for our country's health, the American Medical Association in May
adopted a resolution urging states to pass legislation protecting a mother's
right to breastfeed in public. But any legislation passed should not merely make
nursing in public an exception to a state's obscenity or indecent exposure laws,
but should guarantee breastfeeding as a civil right.
When
someone asks a woman to cover-up during breastfeeding or move to someplace more
private, it is often because this person is sexualizing the act of breastfeeding
rather than viewing it as a natural, nurturing act. What people do not realize
is that many infants cannot eat while covered up and a nursing mother should not
be made to feel embarrassed for feeding her child.
Too many
women have been made to feel this way, including one woman who was asked to stop
breastfeeding in the children's section of a Borders Books and Music store in
Glendale, Calif. In 1999, the California Women's Law Center sued Borders on
behalf of this nursing mother. Borders settled and agreed to educate its
employees about the right to breastfeed in public.
Even
after the Borders case, many people continue to harass breastfeeding mothers.
Unfortunately, in states with no laws about breastfeeding in public, individual
courts will determine the extent of a nursing mother's right.
For
example, in Derungs v. Wal-Mart Stores Inc., a district court in Ohio held that
discrimination against breastfeeding women is not sex discrimination in
violation of Ohio's public accommodation laws. Ohio currently has no law
protecting a woman's right to breastfeed in public and, so while a woman still
has the right to do so, it is not illegal for someone to harass her for doing
so.
As a
society, we must support mothers who are contributing to the well being of our
nation by breastfeeding. Asking a breastfeeding mother to nurse in a bathroom or
cover herself up is an unnecessary barrier to breastfeeding and the mere fear of
such intervention causes many mothers to either never begin breastfeeding or to
prematurely wean their infants.
To learn
what laws your state has about breastfeeding, you can view the following
websites:
If you
are approached about breastfeeding in public, it is recommended that you
politely but firmly let people know it is your right.
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