Marsha Walker and Me...we agree...at least on one thing!
by Kate Kahn - 04th March 2008
There’s a bill up for consideration today in the Massachusetts legislature that would allow, indeed, give women the right, to breastfeed in public without worrying that they’re violating any indecency laws. “That’s great,” you might think. And you’d be right. The problem is, there have already been similar bills put forth, all of which have been put on ice before they could gain any momentum. But it’s time for Massachusetts to get with the picture!
The reality is, dozens of states, and almost all the New England ones, now have laws on their books mandating a woman’s right to breastfeed in public. So why not Massachusetts, home of the original liberal? Or does liberal apply only when it’s convenient for our politicians?
It’s not often I find myself in agreement with Marsha Walker from the Massachusetts Breastfeeding Coalition. (It’s not that I’m against breastfeeding. I’m not. I did it in fact. But I am against her mission to ban goodie bags from hospitals because they include formula samples. But I digress!). When asked about the issue of why proposed laws allowing breastfeeding in public in Massachusetts continually fail, Walker is quoted in a Boston Herald article as saying legislators “think, ‘Oh, what if a woman breast-feeds in church?’ They’re squeamish. The fact is, you don’t see anything. Nobody whips them out. You can’t imprison mothers in their own home. People need to grow up.” And on this, she is right!
So all you Massachusetts working women, mothers, and wives out there, call your legislators. The bill is sponsored by state Rep. Paul K. Frost, R-Auburn. Voice your opinion. Get heard. Make a difference!
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