IT IS hard to believe that, in 2006, we still squabble over the right of a woman to breastfeed in public.
Australian netballer Janine Illitch's request that she be allowed to express breast milk to feed her six-month-old son, Heath, during the Commonwealth Games was initially greeted with indecision.
Okay, expressing is a little different to breastfeeding, but it shouldn't be any more of a problem.
Janine will be staying with her team-mates at the Commonwealth Games Village, while baby Heath will be with family elsewhere.
Naturally, she is keen to provide her child with the ongoing nourishment that breastfeeding is - benefits espoused and encouraged by health authorities around the world.
Thankfully, Netball Australia has seen fit to allow Janine to express milk while she is away from her baby, but not before the issue created a mini-storm.
What should have been a straight-forward "no problem" response to her request turned into a debate about the rights of other athletes.
"There's not a lot of room (at the village) and the players might need their rest and she is in there expressing," coach Norma Plummer was quoted as saying.
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