I had the chance to talk with the mother involved in this incident today, Dr. Melissa Tracy, and I can tell you that she is smart, articulate, kind, and very brave.
She told me that she's always been an advocate breastfeeding, and that as a doctor she takes every opportunity to counsel her patients about the importance of breastfeeding.
There has been lots of coverage of this incident today (Channel 7 News, WBZTV video, among others), and she endured some pretty sophomoric radio interviews. She was also disappointed with the headline of a story on the incident in the Boston Herald (it implied that she called the store employees "boobs," which she didn't and would never do), and believes that mothers should have the right to nurse anywhere, not only in 'private areas,' as the iParty store management suggested as a solution.
There are several polls going on Boston area news station websites sparked by this story. On this poll the question, "Should women be allowed (oh, how I hate that - whose permission do we have to get?) to breastfeed in all public places?" is getting a 50/50 response. On this poll the question "Do you think breastfeeding in public is appropriate?" was also looking like a dead heat this afternoon but has been getting better since then. On the FoxBoston site nursing in public is clearly losing. Please take a minute to vote. You can also follow plans for a nurse-in this Saturday on this discussion board. Update on this - iParty and the moms who were planning this nurse-in have agreed to instead have a celebration of breastfeeding - sponsored by iParty.
This incident is similar to one that occurred recently Florida, but at least in that state mothers have the law behind them. Here in Massachusetts we don't even have the (anemic, in my opinion) exemption from public indecency laws.
Breastfeeding in public is not illegal in any place in the U.S., but if a mother's right to nurse in public were protected here, a store manager couldn't force a mother to leave or relocate. Bills to establish that right have died in the State House for several years, but one is pending now. It takes less than a minute to send an email to your representative through the Children's Hospital of Boston site. Isn't it about time?
Want to get email updates from the Motherwear Blog? Subscribe here. Want an RSS feed? Click here.
