International Breastfeeding Symbol on a sign at the Santa Monica Pier; Photo by Wha'ppen

Texas Law Loophole Explained
Nationwide Nurse-ins Planned at Denny’s Restaurants over Asheville, North Carolina Incident

It’s a Baby’s Right Too

If some people bristle at the thought of a civil right for the breastfeeding mother, it can be helpful to keep in mind that this is not just a “mother’s right” to breastfeed — it’s a baby’s right to be nurtured by the mother!

Won’t Civil Rights Legislation Lead to Excessive Lawsuits?

If the concern is raised that mothers will attempt to go out to breastfeed in public simply to get asked to leave and trigger a claim — that somehow this will explode into many claims by mothers — I would say that is totally unfounded. It’s very humiliating for a mother to be asked to leave a business and it’s highly unlikely that a mother with a nursling would put herself in that contentious position. Also, the claims process takes an extremely long time. For an example, see the case of the mother who was asked to de-board a Delta Airlines flight in 2006. It’s been three years and that claim has not been resolved and the mother has just now decided to file suit.

March 2008 (1.5 years after the incident) Vermont Human Rights Commission rules:
Commission Finds Airline Discriminated against Breastfeeding Mother

November 2009 settlement negotiations fall apart and mother sues:
Burlington Free Press article “Breast-feeding Mom Sues Delta”

Breastfeeding in Public Is an Existing Federal and State Civil Right

When I ran my thoughts by attorney and breastfeeding advocate Jake Marcus who blogs at Sustainable Mothering, she agreed and had this to add:

[B]reastfeeding discrimination should properly be considered covered by current federal and state civil rights law in that it is sex discrimination prohibited by the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the state laws that are its parallel. Unfortunately, as with pregnancy, several courts have drawn a distinction between reproduction-related discrimination and sex discrimination. Congress passed the Pregnancy Discrimination Act in 1978 explicitly condemning judicial decisions that excluded reproductive discrimination from protection against sex discrimination. In the preamble to the pending Breastfeeding Promotion Act, it states also that the proposed inclusion of lactation is a *clarification* of the Civil Rights Act and not a change to the law.

So, state civil rights legislation like the breastfeeding bill pending in Michigan is necessary to see that the federal civil right Congress created in 1964 is enforced.

Post from: Breastfeeding 1-2-3

Image courtesy of David Siqueira

1. Denny’s Restaurant harasses nursing mother. After Crystal Everitt was asked to cover up while breastfeeding at an Asheville, North Carolina, Denny’s restaurant, the regional management issued an unsatisfactory response. Local breastfeeding supporters went ahead with a nurse-in at the restaurant.

2. Dear Abby on pumping at work. Back in March, advice columnist Abigail Van Buren rightfully advised a woman not to be ashamed of pumping at work, but she failed to point out that a bathroom is not a pumping room and that California law protects pumping mothers in the workplace. The following June, the Dear Abby column published several follow-up letters with helpful information.

3. Parents Magazine advises being “discreet.” In April, I wrote to the Parents Magazine etiquette columnist about her belief that nursing in public is only okay as long as the breastfeeding mother is being “discreet” by utilizing shawls, scarves, dark booths and quiet corners.

4. Acosta Tacos fires woman for breastfeeding at work. The owner of Acosta Tacos in Los Angeles, California was ordered to pay Marina Chavez $21,645.00 in lost wages plus $20,000.00 for emotional damages after the owner fired Chavez for breastfeeding her baby on her breaks. In this groundbreaking case, the California Fair Employment and Housing Commission found that breastfeeding is intrinsic to the female sex and thus breastfeeding discrimination is sex discrimination under the Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA). The owner was also ordered to pay a $5,000 fine, establish a written policy on sex discrimination, and post a notice regarding the company’s FEHA violation.

5. Olive Garden requires modesty. In Michigan City, Indiana, Maggie Naas was asked to move to the restroom to breastfeed her baby because, according to that Olive Garden restaurant’s manager, she was not being modest enough.

6. Chick-Fil-A offers a towel to cover up. Thirty breastfeeding women staged a nurse-in at a Florida Chick-Fil-A after a mother was asked to cover her nursing baby with a towel. The mother attempted to contact the local and corporate management and apparently received no response. (One of my favorite pictures from the nurse-in shows the Chick-Fil-A mascot, a cow, looking on as a woman nurses. There’s a joke in there somewhere!)

7. Settlement negotiations between Emily Gillette and Delta Airlines end in lawsuit being filed. It’s hard to believe that it was three years ago that Emily Gillette and her family were asked to de-board an airplane when Ms. Gillette refused a flight attendant’s request to cover her 22-month-old nursling with a blanket. In October 2009 the Burlington Free Press reported that negotiations to settle the discrimination case collapsed and Ms. Gillette has filed suit in U.S. District Court in Burlington, Vermont.

Finally, an incident that I had to add after this post was already scheduled to publish:

8. Target store calls cops on breastfeeding mother. Earlier this week the mother of a four-week-old baby felt forced to leave the Target store in Harper Woods, Michigan after she disputed the security guards’ claim that breastfeeding in the store was illegal. Guess which store will not benefit from my holiday shopping this year? [Edited to add the good news that HB 5515, the pending breastfeeding discrimination bill in Michigan, passed out of committee on a vote of 11 to 2 after the hearing on December 2nd!]

Post from: Breastfeeding 1-2-3

The ironically nipple-like Target bullseye; Photo by TheTruthAbout...

MyFOXDetroit.com reports that on Sunday at the Target store in Harper Woods, Michigan, the mother of a 4-week-old baby was told by security that breastfeeding in the store was illegal. When the mother and her off-duty police officer husband disagreed, the police were called and the mother was so embarrassed that she felt forced to leave the store! Target headquarters issued this statement in response to the incident:

This specific situation escalated to a point where we were concerned for the safety of our guests, so law enforcement was called. We regret the incident in our store and will continue to provide a shopping environment that respects the needs of all guests, including nursing mothers.

Unfortunately this is not the first instance of alleged breastfeeding discrimination by a Target store. Back in 2006 an employee in a Minneapolis, Minnesota Target store told a mother she could not nurse her baby in a fitting room. At that time, Target issued the following statement:

Target has a long-standing practice that supports breastfeeding in our stores. We apologize for any inconvenience the guest experienced and will take this opportunity to reaffirm this commitment with our team members.

For guests in our stores, we support the use of fitting rooms for women who wish to breastfeed their babies, even if others are waiting to use the fitting rooms. In addition, guests who choose to breastfeed discreetly in more public areas of the store are welcome to do so without being made to feel uncomfortable.

Aside from the “disceetly” remark that’s an okay response, except now it’s happened again in another store.

Michigan Breastfeeding Law

Currently the Michigan state law exempts breastfeeding from the public nudity statute. Breastfeeding may also be taken into consideration in child custody cases. This most recent Target incident demonstrates exactly why Michiganders need to support the pending breastfeeding legislation, House Bill 5515. HB 5515 would allow a woman to breastfeed anywhere she may otherwise legally be. The law would amend the Elliot-Larsen Civil Rights Act to state in part:

Sec. 302. Except where permitted by law, a person shall not: (a) Deny the full and equal enjoyment of the goods, services, facilities, privileges, advantages, or accommodations of a place of public accommodation or public service to an individual because of religion, race, color, national origin, age, sex, or marital status or to a woman because she is breastfeeding a child.

I have written to the office of the sponsor of the bill to make sure she knows about this latest alleged breastfeeding discrimination in time for the legislative hearing tomorrow, December 2, 2009. Michigan mothers are invited to testify at the hearing.

[Edited to add the good news that after the December 2nd hearing, HB 5515 passed out of committee by a vote of 11-2!]

Post from: Breastfeeding 1-2-3

One Dollar Coins Photo by Pfala

With these funds, we will make mothers’ voices heard in ongoing national debates on health care, work-life balance, and consumer safety. The closer we come to representing each mother in America, the more clearly we can show the President and Congress: “Americans believe that EVERY MOTHER COUNTS.” Help us reach the goal of one dollar for each new mother. Please donate today!

Donate now through January 15, 2010.

2. Your local breastfeeding coalition. You can make a difference on a local level by joining your local breastfeeding coalition and making a donation.

3. Baby Milk Action. If you are unhappy with Nestle’s unethical marketing practices, one way to express your objection is to donate to the UK’s Baby Milk Action, a non-profit organization that “aims to save lives and to end the avoidable suffering caused by inappropriate infant feeding. Baby Milk Action works within a global network to strengthen independent, transparent and effective controls on the marketing of the baby feeding industry.” Baby Milk Action is part of the International Baby Food Action Network (IBFAN), a network of over 200 citizens groups in more than 100 countries. Help IBFAN celebrate its 30th anniversary by making a donation.

4. One Million Campaign. The One Million Campaign was initiated by IBFAN to mobilize public opinion through one million signatures, demanding support to women to breastfeed.

ONE MILLION CAMPAIGN Support Women to Breastfeed brings together people of all ages from all walks of life to generate the support women need to breastfeed successfully. Through participating in the Movement’s campaigns, petitions to local, national and international policy makers, discussions groups, evidence-based information sharing, and actions at every level, you can focus national and global attention on the several challenges to successful breastfeeding and help to resolve them.

If you support such a global initiative, support the campaign’s efforts with your donation.

5. Breastfeeding calendars. Your purchase of a 2010 breastfeeding calendar is a win-win deal — you get a beautiful calendar and the proceeds benefit a non-profit breastfeeding support organization.

Post from: Breastfeeding 1-2-3

1. Double any gift given before December 31, 2009. Generous donors have agreed to match dollar-for-dollar any donation made between now and December 31, 2009. Your financial contribution will go twice as far in supporting breastfeeding mothers around the world.

2. Help fix what has gone wrong. The need for mother-to-mother breastfeeding support is greater than ever! As a breastfeeding advocate it saddens me that mothers continue to receive bad advice and misinformation from many of the medical professionals that provide care to new mothers and their nurslings. Somewhere along the way we lost the model of grandmothers, mothers, aunts, sisters and neighbors gathering to rally around the new mother with advice and support. La Leche League works to fill that gap by offering breastfeeding education during a woman’s pregnancy followed by telephone and in-person individual and group support after the birth.

3. Give a little back for what you have received. If you were lucky enough to receive breastfeeding support from a La Leche League leader, group or member, now is the time to say “thank you” by making a contribution in honor of your supporters.

4. Non-profit organizations like LLLI need financial support now more than ever. In an economic downturn, non-profit organizations suffer as much or more than corporations do. The number and size of donations go down just as the demand for services goes up! Help supply LLLI with the funds to meet the demand (that was a little breastfeeding reference, in case you missed my awesome word play there ).

5. Charity Accreditation. La Leche League International is a Better Business Bureau (BBB) accredited organization that meets all 20 of the BBB Standards for Charity Accountability.

So what are you waiting for? Give thanks this holiday season by giving to La Leche League International and your your-end gift will be doubled in value!

Post from: Breastfeeding 1-2-3

Sec. 302. Except where permitted by law, a person shall not: (a) Deny the full and equal enjoyment of the goods, services, facilities, privileges, advantages, or accommodations of a place of public accommodation or public service to an individual because of religion, race, color, national origin, age, sex, or marital status or to a woman because she is breastfeeding a child.

To have breastfeeding viewed as a civil right is a wonderful and powerful thing and I hope all Michiganders will speak out in support of the bill!

How Michigan Mothers Can Help

MI State Rep. Rebekah Warren

Mark S. Meadows (D), Committee Chair, 69th District (markmeadows@house.mi.gov)
Ellen Cogen Lipton (D), Majority Vice-Chair, 27th District (EllenLipton@house.mi.gov)
Lisa Brown (D), 39th District (LisaBrown@house.mi.gov)
Bob Constan (D), 16th District; (bobconstan@house.mi.gov)
Marc R. Corriveau (D), 20th District ( marccorriveau@house.mi.gov)
Andy Coulouris (D), 95th District (andycoulouris@house.mi.gov)
Andrew J. Kandrevas (D), 13th District (andrewkandrevas@house.mi.gov)
Bettie Cook Scott (D), 3rd District (bettiecookscott@house.mi.gov)
Rebekah Warren (D), 53rd District (rebekahwarren@house.mi.gov)
Tonya Schuitmaker (R), Minority Vice-Chair, 80th District (tonyaschuitmaker@house.mi.gov)
Justin Amash (R), 72nd District (justinamash@house.mi.gov)
Joseph Haveman (R), 90th District (JosephHaveman@house.mi.gov)
Rick Jones (R), 71st District (rickjones@house.mi.gov)
Eileen Kowall (R), 44th District (EileenKowall@house.mi.gov)
Tory Rocca (R), 30th District (tonyrocca@house.mi.gov)

Malika Abdul-Basir, Committee Clerk 517-373-7256 (mabdul@house.mi.gov)

A resident may find out who his or her own Representative is at the Find a Representative tool.

The second way to support the bill is to testify before the committee. Michigan breastfeeding mothers are needed to testify on Wednesday, December 2, 2009, at 10:30 a.m. at the meeting of the Judiciary Committee in Room 521 of the House Office Building in Lansing. The House Office Building is at 124 N. Capitol, at the corner of Capitol and Ottawa in downtown Lansing. Anyone may testify, even without advance notice. If someone would like to testify but cannot attend, he or she may mail or email their testimony to Kim Easter in advance of the hearing. Even if someone prefers not to testify, his or her attendance at a hearing and personal correspondence with committee members and his or her own legislators are important in influencing the decision-making process.

Tips for Testifying before the Committee

The purpose of testimony given should be informational so that committee members can vote on the bill with as full an understanding as possible of all sides of the issue it addresses, and the consequences of its passage. A witness should prepare testimony in advance and keep the testimony short and to the point.

When you testify, identify who you are and, if you represent a group, give the name of the group. At the beginning of your remarks, state that you are testifying in support of the bill. Relate your group’s or your own experience or views directly to the issue.

If you are asked a hostile question, keep a cool head. Don’t be afraid to stop and think for a minute to answer a question properly. If you don’t have the answer, never guess—request permission to file a detailed response at a later date.

Post from: Breastfeeding 1-2-3

California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, Image: Zuma Press

The second vetoed bill was AB 513 — DeLeon-Healthcare Coverage/Breastfeeding, which would have required specified health care service plans and health insurers to include coverage for lactation consultation and for the rental of breast pumps. Governor Schwarzenegger said that this bill “will only serve to increase the overall cost of health care.” Such a statement fails to recognize that any money spent on breastfeeding support actually ends up saving money and lowering health care costs through the improved health of the baby and mother! The California WIC Association notes, “It has been shown that infants who are breastfed exclusively for three months have reduced health care costs of up to $475 in the first year of life alone compared to non-breastfed infants.”

Where Do We Go from Here

What can be done now? The California WIC Association asks interested parties to send letters to the editor to five major media outlets. It provides sample letters and fact sheets about the bills. Californians can also call the Governor at 916-445-2841 to express disapproval of his veto on AB 513 and SB 257.

It takes a long time and a lot of effort by breastfeeding advocates to get such legislation passed. What a disappointment to see Governor Schwarzenegger veto those bills after they passed the state legislature. Hopefully the bills will get re-introduced in future years. That’s right Arnold, we’ll be back.

Post from: Breastfeeding 1-2-3

Michigan is one of only a handful of states that still fails to protect breastfeeding moms from being harassed, segregated, or otherwise discouraged from breastfeeding in public. Breastfeeding moms must be allowed to feed their infants wherever they may otherwise legally be. This is more than a lifestyle choice; it is an important health choice.

While the bill has not been formally introduced in the House yet, it appears that it will be the kind of bill lactivists particularly like to see — the kind that treats breastfeeding as a civil right. Representative Warren made the call for action:

Let’s add breastfeeding mothers to the list of those protected under Michigan’s Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act. No longer will Michigan’s breastfeeding mothers be banished to feed their children in toilet stalls and broom closets.

This legislation is a long time in coming. Remember way back in February 2007 when I wrote about a Lactivist Call for Change in Michigan after a mother was told she could no longer breastfeed her son at daycare? Good thing breastfeeding advocates in Michigan have been busy since then. In August the Michigan Breastfeeding Network submitted a petition to state legislators:

We, the undersigned, are concerned citizens who urge our leaders to act now to support the following: A mother may breastfeed her child in any location public or private, where the mother is otherwise authorized to be present.

It’s clear those grassroots efforts paid off! Good work Michigan lactivists and thank you Representatives Warren and Schuitmaker for agreeing to co-sponsor the breastfeeding bill.

Post from: Breastfeeding 1-2-3

Whose responsibility is it to control the advertising, marketing and promotional activities which may create a market in spite of public health considerations?

In the hearing itself, Senator Kennedy put a Nestlé executive through a very pointed line of questioning on the company’s social responsibility in countries where poverty and the lack of a sanitary water supply make f*ormula-feeding particularly dangerous. Watch this fascinating clip:

Patti Rundall, Policy Director for Baby Milk Action and Co-coordinator of the WABA Advocacy Task Force, highlighted Kennedy’s contribution:

Senator Edward Kennedy cared not only for US citizens but also for international health. It was his vision, as Chairman of the US Senate Subcommittee on Health and Scientific Research, which instigated the International Code of Marketing of Breastmilk Substitutes, which was adopted by the World Health Assembly in 1981. This Code is a benchmark for good practice and is used by governments all over the world to protect infant and young child health from unethical marketing.

The question in my mind is, who will take up the torch now? Who in the United States will hold f*ormula companies to the standards of the International Code of Marketing of Breastmilk Substitutes?

Post from: Breastfeeding 1-2-3

Post from: Breastfeeding 1-2-3