A bill that would protect breastfeeding women from harassment was introduced into the state Senate Wednesday at the Capitol.

State Sen. Fred Risser, D-Madison, authored the bill that would make it illegal for people to discriminate against women who breastfeed in public.

"Basically it gives a statutory right for a woman to breastfeed her child in any public or private place where she is able to be," Risser said. "Some people still are upset at breastfeeding in public and some women have been harassed by others, so we hope this bill would reduce that."

Currently there are no laws dealing directly with breastfeeding in public, Risser said. The definition of "lewd behavior" exempts women who breastfeed, but there are no statutes protecting these women from verbal abuse while feeding their babies.

This proposed legislation would allow for the prosecution of people who harass women that are breastfeeding in public.

"If a person was harassing a woman who was breastfeeding, she now — if this bill passes — would have a legal right to complain and that individual would be arrested and fined," Risser said.

It is not unusual for states to make legislation allowing women to breastfeed wherever they choose, Risser said, and this bill is modeled after legislation that has been passed in other states.

Jill Innes, a public health nurse at the Madison Department of Pubic Health, said breastfeeding is an integral part of the healthy development of babies. Infants who are breastfed are less susceptible to illness and are generally happier, Innes said.

"It's an important thing for the health of our infants and the health of our society," Innes said. "It will take time to increase the comfort level of people, but hopefully uncomfortable encounters with breastfeeding women will eventually be reduced."

However, not all people agree with this proposed legislation.

State Sen. Tom Reynolds, R-Menominee Falls, said women who wish to breastfeed in public should use restrooms or more private areas rather than feeding their babies out in the open.

"There are some things that should be done with discretion and that shouldn't be done in public," Reynolds said. "That's why they put doors on bedrooms and bathrooms."

Doctor bill

In another legislative act Wednesday, the Senate Judiciary, Corrections and Privacy Committee approved a bill that would protect doctors from lawsuits brought by the parents of disabled children who claim the doctors did not adequately identify possible birth defects in their kids. Under the bill, parents would not be able to sue doctors because they felt they were prevented from obtaining abortions due to the doctors' failure to disclose the abnormalities.

"It is a common sense measure that will help us keep good doctors in Wisconsin and prevent frivolous lawsuits," Rep. Scott Suder, R-Abbotsford, said.

The bill was given the nod in a three-to-two vote in the committee.

"This bill would protect physicians from their own negligence," Sen. Lena Taylor, D-Milwaukee, who voted against the bill, said in an e-mail. "We all want to reduce the number of abortions, but it is an outrageous breach of medical ethics to allow doctors to intentionally deceive a pregnant woman and her family about the potential health risks of her pregnancy."

However, pro-life advocates are supportive of the bill and say it helps not only to protect doctors, but to protect life as well.

"Both 'wrongful birth' and 'wrongful life' lawsuits send the dangerous message that people are 'products' that can be rejected if 'quality control' somehow failed," Peggy Hamill, the state director of Pro-life Wisconsin, said.