Sunday, February 15, 2009

The Right to Breastfeed Act

Wisconsin could soon become the forty-second state to legalize breastfeeding in public. State Sen. Fred Risser, D-Madison, and Rep. Sheldon Wasserman, D-Milwaukee, authored "The Right to Breastfeed Act" after being contacted by a supporting constituent who had a negative experience while breastfeeding in public in a shopping mall.

An article by Julie Sherman on the AssociatedContent.com site titled Legislation Proposed to Protect a Woman's Right to Breastfeed in Public gave details:
This law, should the bill pass, will protect a mother's right to feed her infant anywhere, and will include punishment for those who choose to harass or discriminate against that right. "If a person was harassing a woman who was breastfeeding, she now - if this bill passes - would have a legal right to complain and that individual would be arrested and fined," Risser said. If found in violation of this law, the punishment would be a $200 fine.

This particular bill is modeled after the laws in 30 states, and seem long overdue. "Babies deserve the best nutrition they can get, anytime or anywhere they want it." said co-author Wasserman. I hope few will disagree with that.

1 comment:

  1. This is good news! But of course when you breast feed in public you might as well use a cover to cover yourself while breast feeding. There is nothing wrong breast feeding in public, this has been for centuries. Breast feeding not only nourishes but creates a bond between mother and child.

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