Massachusetts Nursing in Public Bill
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Friday, December 08, 2006
Motherwear's Tanya Lieberman had a great post yesterday about the current status of the breastfeeding legislation in Massachusetts along with an update on the New York Breastfeeding Bill of Rights that I posted about last week.Tanya writes...
In Massachusetts, State Senator Susan Fargo has authored the SB 2704, the Breastfeeding Mothers Protection Act, which would provide protection for nursing in public and would create an incentive for employers to establish clean, private facilities for women to pump and store breastmilk. Massachusetts is one of only 14 states that do not have laws which specifically allow women to breastfeed in any public or private location.
I've also heard from Tanya that the bill is stuck in committee due to opposition from small business owners. (restaurants, primarily) If you live in Massachusetts, I'd urge you to contact House Ways and Means Committee Chair DeLeo at 617-722-2990 to voice your support for the legislation.
Labels: Lactivism, Nursing in Public
That'll be interesting to follow. Do you know of a site that we can check current laws on breastfeeding for our respective states? I just assumed I could breastfeed my son if I were eating out (ha! who eats out with a newborn?) but now I see I may be wrong.
Nevermind, a simple Google search for "breastfeeding laws by state" revealed this URL with the information I was seeking: http://www.ncsl.org/programs/health/breast50.htm
Though your other blog readers may be interested in viewing this. My state is covered, thankfully, but it's ashamed all 50 aren't open to breastfeeding mothers. We should focus on expanding the laws to cover all locations in all states.
First let me say that breastfeeding in public is LEGAL in every single state, city and town in the United States. Because we live in the U.S., things are legal unless otherwise made illegal by laws.
What these laws are doing is providing specific PROTECTION for breastfeeding moms...not making something that was illegal now legal. (so get out there and nurse! lol)
Now, as to checking the status, there are a couple options...
Here's a link to a site that has a great summary of the current breastfeeding related laws in all 50 states.
La Leche League also keeps a list of pending legislation on their site.
It's unbelievable that presumably the most liberal state is taking this long to pass this legislature. Not that I care. I've been whooping my boobs out all around Boston for over 2 years now. :)
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