Doylestown Borough to vote on breast-feeding law
Measure would protect women's civil rights by providing a system to file complaints.
Doylestown Borough to vote on breast-feeding law
Women will have their right to breast feed protected in Doylestown Borough, if the borough council votes tonight to support the anti-discrimination measure.
“This will be historic – we will be the second municipality in Pennsylvania with such a law,” Councilwoman Marlene Pray said Monday. “Philadelphia is the other. Seattle passed one earlier this year.”
Pennsylvania has a Freedom to Breastfeed Act, but “there is nothing to protect a woman’s civil rights,” Pray said. “This will make sure a woman couldn’t be cited for indecent exposure.”
Doylestown’s measure, an amendment to the borough’s Human Rights ordinance, would provide a remedy for women when they are told to leave a public place or to go into the bathroom to breast feed.
A complaint could be filed at Borough Hall, and the borough’s Human Rights officer would look into it, said Pray, who also is chairwoman of the Community and Government Affairs Committee.
The complaint could be resolved by educating a store owner or employee about the woman’s rights, Pray said. Otherwise, officer Kelli J. Scarlett can mediate the complaint, and, when necessary, refer it to the borough’s Human Relations Commission.
The proposed amendment is a single sentence: "It shall be unlawful to prohibit a breastfeeding mother from or segregate a breastfeeding mother within any public accommodation."
The borough has received 27 letters supporting the amendment, including at least five from businesses, Pray said. “There have been none opposing it.”
Most of the letters have been from nursing mothers, she said.
“There’s a lot of shame and embarrassment by being asked to leave or move when breastfeeding,” she said.
Borough Council President Det Ansinn, who proposed the amendment, said in a text that he expects it to pass, “but with some vocal opposition by two members of council. The public has been supportive.”
The council voted 5-4 last month to advertise the amendment. Tonight’s meeting is scheduled for 7 at Borough Hall, 57 W. Court St.
Comment removed.
This is so stupid. Can't we all just agree to act rationally without the use of such ridiculous laws. If you are in a public place and need to breast-feed, just find the most discreet way to do so. If you are in a public place and someone is discreetly breast-feeding, be a normal person and just go about your business. It is not complicated.— Succubus- Succubus, therein lies the conundrum: How does one 'discreetly' breastfeed? Unfortuantely, there are too many prudes out there that don't want to see any sort of breastfeeding whatsoever--think of the children!!--despite infants and toddlers being exposed to breasts on a fairly regular basis already. So, we do, in fact, need this legislation to protect mothers from the ignorant.— 1972bline
- Whatever happened to the principle of law establishing that any action not specifically prohibited by law is a lawful action? Instead of a country ruled by the law, we have become a country overburdened by useless laws.— DonQ
- Nobody has to discreetly breast feed. If you don't like it, don't look at it.— AreaMan
- While I think it's ridiculous that breast-feeding would be considered indecent, or worse, illegal, I also don't understand why a bottle of formula or pre-pumped milk can't be employed just as (or, really, more) easily. This strikes me as another step in the march of mommy culture, or a strike in the ever-growing culture of parenthood, and anyone who ever questions the right of parents to impose their parenthood on all aspects of all culture at all times is condemned as an antisocial kook. It used to be that parenthood was a part of a person's life. Now, it is the very way they are defined, and all of society is expected to celebrate it.
Just pack a bottle from now on, eh, moms? We wouldn't need to waste legislators' time with this silliness, then.— Sean R. - To Sean - you either don't have kids or your wife didn't breast feed. Breast feeding, is good for the child and the mom, don't think we disagree there, but a woman's breast is not a faucet that you turn off when you don't need it, it produces milk and they need to be either pumped or the baby eats from it. While packing a bottle for a short trip might be easy, a day trip somewhere means a lot more packing, not to mention the mom may need some relief. The people that are complaining about a woman feeding their child are the problem here. I have yet to meet a breasfeeding woman that just lets her breast hang out for all to see and most cover up their whole top when able to.— dcn
- Note to bill sponsors: most women want to breastfeed their babies in private. The women who want to do it in public tend to be the exhibitionist type. Frankly, it should be done in private. I don't need to be sitting at a restaurant and have someone start breastfeeding her kid. No thanks.— Wednesday
- Seeing a woman feed her baby gets your panties in a wad? You're either old, close minded a religous zealot or some combination of the above. — cindym507
- A couple weeks ago I was having a romantic dinner at a classy restaurant in the city. Wouldn't you know, the lady at the table next to us whipped out a startling looking teat and starting feeding junior. If our babies needed to eat at 7:00, dinner out for mom and dad was at 7:30.— Bobski5000
- What's so startling? Women have been doing the same thing for millions of years. Breasts were not invented 40 years ago, as far as I know. — DonQ
- Breast feed to your heart's content, ladies. You'll never hear a peep of protest about it from me.— xpatphluphyan
- Breasts weren't just "invented" (strange choice of words), but women who did breastfeed were mindful of others. It's called discretion. No on is saying it's wrong. It is the healthier choice over formulas, and it's a beautiful thing for bonding. It's natural. But why does everyone have to be subject to seeing a woman breast feed? A receiving blanket will do the trick. It will help too if some people realize that other people exist in the world who may be uncomfortable or who may disagree with public breast feeding. It's kind of like nudist colonies. Some people love it, others don't, but it's a segregated environment. It's not forced on anyone.— ptahan
- I find it uncomfortable when I see a really obese person order something unhealthy. Should I request that they put blankets over their heads while they eat? — AreaMan
- America slips further into the abyss of over legislation.........— Northcountry
