I can't wait for the day when breastfeeding in public stops being news. Who's with me? Hold it right there y'all: a woman who says she was kicked out of the lobby of an Illinois courthouse for daring to feed her daughter has stumbled on one of the toughest stumbling blocks for moms yet.
Natalie Petrovic says the person who told her she had to nurse her daughter in the courthouse bathroom wasn't your average ignorant store manager or rude passerby. Petrovic, who was there to apply for food assistance benefits, is suing Cook County and the sheriff because she claims it was none other than a cop who told her she was being indecent.
And that, right there? That's a huge problem.
Breastfeeding in public is a right under the law in 45-some states -- including Illinois. But if the very people who are charged with policing our streets (and our courthouses) don't know the law, how the heck are we Moms supposed to protect ourselves from all those busybodies who are terrified of a little boob?
The exact details of Petrovic's case are sure to come out as the lawsuit progresses. Right now we know she says she was told she had to either stop feeding her 7-week-old or go hide in a bathroom. The county won't respond to the allegations because of the pending litigation, but this happens more than you'd think.
A mom who was breastfeeding her child at the home of Washington, D.C.'s Metropolitan Police was accused of indecent exposure by a guard late last fall -- even though nursing in public is protected in the nation's capital. In 2008, a mom at a Kentucky McDonald's was told by a police officer that she would be facing criminal charges for feeding her child. Again, that's a state that protects moms who breastfeed.
That's a mere sampling of the instances where the cops were ignorant of laws that protect mothers and their kids, and it's terrifying. When someone makes a ridiculous claim of inappropriate sexual activity by a mom who is simply trying to give her kid a meal, we depend on the person showing up to answer the call to know what they're talking about.
What's the use of the laws to protect moms if the cops don't know about them? Are the police in your area aware of the laws?
Image via ElvertBarnes/Flickr
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Comments 11
Natalie Petrovic, 21, was at the county Municipal Courthouse in Skokie waiting to apply for food-assistance benefits when she covered herself with a blanket and began to breastfeed her daughter, according to the Chicago Sun-Times. According to the suit, a female deputy asked Petrovic to stop breastfeeding or move to the bathroom.
Considering she was covered I wonder what was so effing inappropriate about feeding her kid? I hope she wins this lawsuit and the officer should be ashamed of herself!
Oh, and if you have time, read through the comments on the Huffington Post article. For a bunch of "Liberals" they sure are backwards on natural parenting. Disgusting.
Seems that police force is not fully educated in the matter. More information is obviosuly needed. I don't think all officers have been exposed to breastfeeding moms, i,e wives, sisters, friends.
Although I agree in breastfeeding when baby needs it, wherever you might be, some form of cover up is sometimed required, I always had a receiving blanket or towel handy, big breasts full of milk were hard to conceal with just a tiny baby's mouth. Officers must learn how to approach the moms. Keep in mind that nowadays everythig is missinterpreted and blown out of proportion (remember the caucasisn grandpa with the afroamerican grandkid?)
A matter of education in my opinion.
I hate to break it to you, but there are lots of your rights that law enforcement is either completely ignorant of or is misinformed about. Wouldn't you say that it is critical that law enforcement be educated on all laws regarding the right to own and carry weapons? Well, many are not. Most are not taught anything about your right to carry a weapon. Think about the dangerous situations that ignorance leads to. Ignorance of law enforcement is a much bigger issue than just breast feeding rights.
Hearrrrd that, Floridamom.
i have never been harrassed about it but telling a women to go to the bathroom i would tell who ever did that to eat their food in the bathroom!
It is a shame that another female had an issue with this. I wouldnt be a bit suprised if a male officer done this ( not that its any better or right). I wonder if this police officer is a mother herself?... Why is it such a suprise when someone sees a mother breast feeding...Why do we get funny looks? And stares?