Support the Right to Breastfeed!

WARNING: The soapbox has come out of the closet for this blog post!

I want to take a little bit of your time today to raise awareness of a Wisconsin Assembly Bill that will be voted on February 16th. At this time, there are no protections in our state laws that protect a mother’s right to breast feed her children in public. Currently, we can be harassed, intimidated and interfered without any repercussions. Wisconsin is poised to become on of the first states to have a bill that would help protect my right to breastfeed in public. As most of you know, I breastfeed Eli and during this time I am bound to have to feed him in public.

So I am asking any and all of my Wisconsin readers to contact their senators and representatives to lodge their support of this bill. It is important that our officials are encouraged to vote YES with NO amendments to the Assembly Bill 57. Again the vote is taking place on February 16th, 2010.

Here is a summary of what the bill entails and will ensure:

A mother may breast-feed her child in any public or private location where the mother and child are otherwise authorized to be.

In such a location, no person may prohibit a mother from breast-feeding her child, request or direct a mother to move to a different location to breast-feed her child, request or direct a mother to cover her child or breast while breast-feeding, or otherwise restrict a mother from breast-feeding.

If you would like to find out who your representative or senator is, please use this link. You can easily email your representative/senator! Thanks for the support; the soapbox is back in the closet for now!