Bill will protect mothers' rights to nurse babies in public

On Dec. 2, there was a hearing in Lansing in the House Judiciary Committee on bill HB 5515 that I attended. The bill, sponsored by Rep. Rebekah Warren, D-53rd District, will allow women to breastfeed in public without being asked to move, leave, or fear arrest for trespassing when told to leave.

The bill adds to the existing Elliot-Larsen Civil Rights bill protections for women breastfeeding in public and allows them the freedom to do so without fear, harassment, or arrest.

Women with children know that a baby can be fed at home and be hungry an hour later. Trips away from the house can take time and babies will need to be fed at some point. Must women be forced to either stay home, or pack a bottle just to leave the house when breast milk requires no additional packaging, preparation or cost?

Would you eat in the bathroom let alone deal with the germs in the washroom?

There's an expense and time constraint to preparing bottles when breast milk is naturally and conveniently stored. There are also health benefits that are not associated with formula. What really made me side with these women was hearing how they've been kicked out of public parks, pools, schools, stores even while being discreet.

We've heard about the Harper Woods woman who was feeding her 4-week-old baby in a Target store recently and the police were called and she had to leave. Well, she's not the only one. Other women like her testified in Lansing.

A woman at the hearing testified she was kicked out of the Detroit Institute of Arts while being discreet and covered, while in a room surrounded by nudes in art.

Nursing mothers as a class need to be protected. But this is more than about nursing mothers. This is about women's rights. If you subdivide women into a class and begin to not protect that class, you are decreasing women's rights and equal protections under the law.

Michigan has already amended its public indecency act to state that breastfeeding is NOT public nudity and a woman cannot be arrested for it (because women were being arrested for it.) Now, they face trespassing laws just for feeding their child.

The bill does not legislate discretion or the amount of skin that can be shown. The bill does not require businesses to create nursing rooms. And if such rooms existed, a woman could still nurse where convenient for her.

Protect women's rights under the equal protection clause of the U.S. and Michigan constitutions. Protect a nursing child from public harassment. Support the House bill 5515 by writing to your State Representative and Senator in support of the bill. It's not law yet. The bill passed out of committee; will go to the House floor for a vote; if passed, to the Senate committee, then the Senate floor for a vote, and to the governor for signature.

Joanne Marbut is a resident of Ypsilanti and a member of the Washtenaw County Democrats. She is “a mother to seven cats.”