The Vermont Human Rights Commission ruled today that Freedom Airlines discriminated against nursing mother Emily Gillette when a flight attendant asked Gillette to cover up while breastfeeding and had her removed from the flight when she refused to do so. The parties now have a six-month period in which to attempt to negotiate a settlement. If a settlement is not reached, the Commission could file a civil suit against Freedom Airlines. Gillette’s lawyer Beth Boepple has been quoted as saying:
What the Human Rights Commission does with it and how they decide to fashion a remedy once we get past …read more

Nearly a year and a half after Emily Gillette was removed from a Delta/Freedom Airlines flight for refusing to cover up while breastfeeding, the Vermont Human Rights Commission will hear the case. According to the Burlington Free Press, the Commission will review the findings of its investigator, who found reasonable grounds that Freedom discriminated against Gillette. The hearing is set to take place on Thursday, March 27, 2008, and it is closed to the public. While Gillette said she is not required to attend, she traveled to Vermont anyway.
I feel really grateful, still, for the way the state’s set up. …read more

Almost five months after nearly 900 people participated in nurse-ins at 40 airports across the country in support of Emily Gillette (the New Mexico mother who was kicked off an airplane for breastfeeding her toddler), Ms. Gillette’s case is starting to undergo investigation. Rebecca Robinson of the Bennington Banner reports that last Thursday the Vermont Human Rights Commission denied a motion by Delta and Freedom Airlines to dismiss the complaint against them.
Ms. Gillette refused to cover up while breastfeeding her 22-month-old son as they sat on a plane waiting for take-off from Burlington Airport in Vermont. Vermont state law specifically protects breastfeeding in …read more

Mothers returned to Dallas-Fort Worth Airport this morning for a repeat rally, both to support nursing mother Emily Gillette and to seek an apology for how the Texas mothers were treated at the initial rally.
This time the rally went off without a hitch. While the original rally consisted of five mothers and nine children, the second rally included 27 adults and 28 children–that will teach the airport security a lesson for sending them away the first time! Those ladies came back with a vengeance, albeit a polite and peaceful vengeance.
Only one other nurse-in out of the 40 …read more

Texas mothers plan another nurse-in at Dallas-Fort Worth Airport (DFW) this Friday, December 1, 2006, at 10 a.m. at the Delta counter in Terminal E of the airport.
According to participants, when five mothers and nine children originally gathered at DFW for the national nurse-in on November 21, they were harassed by airport security and threatened with arrest for indecent exposure and disorderly conduct. Mothers participating in this second nurse-in not only will gather in support of the mother kicked off a Delta flight for nursing without covering up, but to insist that the airport police (Department of Public Safety officers) …read more

The dust has settled after the national nurse-in on Tuesday, November 21, 2006, and the final tally approaches 900 activists and children at 40 airports across the country! I’m impressed by the tremendous grassroots effort organized in just four days’ time!
As I said, most of the press has been extremely positive. I’ve seen just a bit of backlash from letters to the editors of newspapers covering the story, and a lot of heated debate on news message boards.
Overall I think the nurse-in and subsequent media coverage reflected positively on a woman’s ability to nurse in public. Certainly women airline passengers …read more

Organizers of the national nurse-in report that over 773 mothers, fathers, grandparents, children and supporters attended at 36 airports! Three of those sites have yet to report the number of participants, which means the final tally will be even higher.
I think some of the news coverage has under-reported the number of attendees simply because the reporters arrived early and did not stay for the full hour or two to get a final head count. At any rate, many lactivists made their voices heard today, and hopefully that will result in changes for the better.

Photos from the nurse-in at Reagan International Airport (DCA) have been shared by Robin Abadia. What I love to see (aside from the happy and super-discreet mama and nursling!) are all those breastfeeding icons!

Mama-baby lactivists happily nurse-in at Reagan International

Lactivist being interviewed by National Public Radio

The crowd at DCA

All in all the first-hand accounts of the national nurse-ins have been extremely positive. The participants were peaceful and the news reporters were friendly and sympathetic to the cause. Only one participant reported a bad experience when she was turned away from JFK airport. Security was not allowing anyone without a ticket to enter, but the report was unclear as to whether this restriction was due to the planned nurse-in or simply a holiday security measure.
Here is a sampling of the news stories just starting to hit the web, including some video footage!
Phoenix, Arizona (20 activists plus children): numbers reported …read more

House Representative Carolyn B. Maloney of New York issued a statement in support of the nurse-ins:
I commend the women who are out at airports all over the country today to help make sure that women can breastfeed if they choose to. This incident again shows that we need to do more to support women who choose to breastfeed in this country — which is exactly what my legislation, the Breastfeeding Promotion Act, would do.
Again, here is the link to the Breastfeeding Promotion Act.
Now for a bit of humor at the expense of Delta, check out this cartoon from Hathor the …read more