Thursday, September 15, 2005

Breast-feeding advocates want no rules (East Valley Tribune)

Breast-feeding advocates want Chandler to take the lead in protecting breast-feeding mothers by requiring business owners to accommodate the practice. The move, they say, could help in efforts to pass similar legislation at the state level.

But Rep. Krysten Sinema, D-Phoenix, who has met with advocates recently and is working on a statewide breastfeeding law, said her bill won’t go as far as advocates want.

"You can’t tell private business what to do," she said Wednesday.

Her version would only create an exemption to the indecent exposure statute for women breast-feeding their children.

click to read more....



Now here's the part of the article that particularly caught my eye:

= = But to Bridges-Jones, and other advocates, breastfeeding is a public-health issue that justifies laws similar to the city’s ban on smoking in most public places. Business owners who remove or segregate a mother for breastfeeding her child also harm the mother and child, she said.

House, in an e-mail to Bridges-Jones, disagreed with the public-health argument. "Breastfeeding involves conduct, not status," he wrote. ==

~ Ali

1 comment:

Ali said...

Yes, Illinois has some great laws in place - thanks for highlighting them here, Janet!