Bothered by moms breast feeding in public?

Proposed Michigan law would make it illegal to ask them to stop

By Kyla King

With the percentage of nursing moms reportedly climbing to record highs nationwide, some Michigan lawmakers are trying to make it illegal to ask a woman to stop breast feeding her infant in a public place.

A state House bill would protect nursing mothers from discrimination under the state's Civil Rights Act.

Rep. Robert Dean, D-Grand Rapids, said he signed on to co-sponsor the legislation after watching the care his daughter-in-law took to nurse his grandchildren as discreetly as possible.

"I know some persons yet may feel offended, but she was very careful and meticulous and the children are better for it," Dean said.

The bill came before the House Judiciary Committee this week after being introduced by Rep. Rebekah Warren, D-Ann Arbor.

State law currently protects moms from being charged with indecent exposure if they are breast feeding in public. But it doesn't protect them from discrimination that would deny them "full and equal access to the enjoyment of goods, services, facilities, privileges, advantages and accommodations in public places," as covered by the Civil Rights Act.

"It's sad that it's even needed," said Rebeca Reyna, a 35-year-old Ada Township resident, lactation counselor and member of the local La Leche League.

Reyna, who nursed her two children, said she hopes the legislation will raise awareness of the many health benefits of breast feeding for both mom and baby.

"I feel very strongly about encouraging mothers to breast feed in public because the more the public sees it, the more comfortable people will be," she said.

The issue made news in 2005 when Kent County Clerk Mary Hollinrake, acting on complaints from employees and a vendor, asked a woman nursing her child in the lobby of the administration building to either cover herself, or go to a ground-floor restroom or elsewhere. The incident galvanized protesters who later held a nursing rally on Calder Plaza to support public breast feeding.

Earlier this week at a Target store in the Detroit area, a security guard reportedly asked a mother nursing a 4-week-old baby to leave and eventually called police.

Cascade Township resident Anna Hargrave, who is nursing her second child, said mothers need assurance they can nurse confidently without harassment.

Hargrave, 33, said she has nursed while walking down the aisle in the grocery store, during music class, and at hockey games. The practice has prompted a few dirty looks, but Hargrave said positive experiences outweigh the negative -- like the "thumbs up" she got from a woman shopping at Flowerland as she nursed on one of the store's patio chairs.

"Babies should feel free to eat whenever and wherever they are hungry," Hargrave said.

According La Leche League International, New York was the first state, in 1984, to enact any form of breast feeding legislation.

Since then, most states have moved to protect nursing moms from indecent exposure charges. Many have also enacted laws prohibiting discrimination against public breast feeding. In addition to Michigan, other states that haven't covered it in their discrimination laws are Colorado, Idaho, Massachusetts, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Virginia, Washington, the District of Columbia, and Wyoming.

Rep. Justin Amash, R-Cascade Township, cast one of the opposing votes when the bill was moved out of committee this week by a 11-2 vote. Amash said he objects to including "activities," such as public breast feeding, in the act, instead of protected classes like race, gender and national origin.

"I thought it was inappropriate (to include in the act)," Amash said. "I don't oppose breast feeding in public. I think employers and businesses should have open policies. That's not to say I would support (another bill) if it was done a different way."

Hargrave said she hopes society reaches a place in which a woman breast feeding in public is not considered unusual, or private.

"I think our culture needs to recognize that that's what breasts are for," she said. "If you go to a beach or a pool, you're going to see a lot more than if a mom is nursing her child."