2009 House Bill 5515: Include breastfeeding woman in civil rights law protected classes

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Introduced by Rep. Rebekah Warren (D) on October 14, 2009, to include a woman who is breastfeeding in the protected classes in the state civil rights law. The bill would prohibit denying a breastfeeding woman “the full and equal enjoyment of the goods, services, facilities, privileges, advantages, or accommodations of a place of public accommodation,” and these places from having or posting a policy that a breastfeeding woman's patronage or presence is “objectionable, unwelcome, unacceptable, or undesirable”.
- Referred to the House Judiciary Committee on October 14, 2009.
  - Reported in the House on December 2, 2009, without amendment and with the recommendation that the bill pass.

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1) Re: 2009 House Bill 5515 (Include breastfeeding woman in civil rights law protected classes ) by babybaby on February 26, 2010

BTW...I'm currently a well educated (although not a good speller) 26 year old breastfeeding mom. When my baby gets hungry in public I "plug her up" with the pacifier and run home to feed her or I find a corner somewhere, because I don't want people staring . I believe many other breastfeeding women do the same thing...this law may be one step to help make it more acceptable and easier for women to choose to feed their baby the healthiest way possible.

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2) Re: 2009 House Bill 5515 (Include breastfeeding woman in civil rights law protected classes ) by babybaby on February 26, 2010

"I don't have a lot of use for bawling brats, either. But the fact (that you cite) that the vast majority of nursing mothers do their nursing discretely and demurely drives home the point that this legislation is totally unnecessary. They don't need protection, since their activity typically goes unnoticed and unchallenged. This bill proposes to protect only exhbitionist mommies."

Just to that I would like to say...the bill will protect "breastfeeding women"...regardless of their decsression when breastfeeding. Maybe it will protect "exhbitionist mommies"...but point is it will protect ALL breastfeeding women from descrimination or an embarassing scene. You're right that many breastfeeding mommies go unnoticed, but on the opposite end they're are some rude people out there that will make a scene about a breastfeeding woman EVEN if she is being descrete...I think those moms SHOULD be protected. I understand why you are arguing that it shouldn't be a civil right, but personally I disagree with you.

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3) Re: 2009 House Bill 5515 (Include breastfeeding woman in civil rights law protected classes ) by gypsy on February 23, 2010

[quote user="FreeSpeaker"]The only hypersensitivity being exhibited
here is by those supporting (this) legislation that really is unneeded
and would only trivialize important civil rights laws already on the
books.[/quote]

I really don't see how protecting the right of a mother to nurse her child in public would somehow trivialize the civil rights we now protect. That is a stretch indeed.

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