Gisele's world becomes reality

In Jakarta, Indonesia, there's a law that was passed last year that supermodel, Gisele Bundchen, would be proud of I'm sure.  Women who refuse to breastfeed their newborns could face time in jail for denying what lawmakers there call "children's rights."  According to the law there babies have the right to six months of exclusive breast milk unless their mothers can't breastfeed for medical reasons.  If a mother fails that test she is subject to a year in prison or a 15-thousand dollar fine!  On top of that, employers that prevent a woman from breastfeeding also face a punishment of imprisonment or fine.

Thankfully, while the law is on the books in Jakarta it's not yet being implemented.

That's exactly what life in Gisele's world would be like if she had her way.  Dangerous, don't you think?  For now, we can only imagine, and let's hope it stays that way.  For women in Jakarta, the threat is there and it's probably a little overwhelming, perhaps terrifying.

The idea that government would mandate how we feed our babies is very Orwellian, not to mention ridiculous.  We pride ourselves on our democracy and I'm guessing Gisele is all over the idea of democracy.  She must be so conflicted!  We are all about choice and that means the right to choose how we feed our babies.  No one has the right to tell a woman what the "right" thing to do is.  The reality is how a woman chooses to feed her child is a personal choice and one based on a situation that is specific to her.

We can scoff at Gisele's idea that breastfeeding should be law.  But in some places it is.  Isn't that just a tad frightening?