Wisconsin may become one of the more than 40 states to provide protection to breastfeeding mothers if a plan moving through the state Legislature passes.
The Senate held a public hearing Monday to discuss the proposal that would prohibit others from harassing mothers who are breast-feeding in public or private areas. Violators of the law would face fines up to $200, according to Senate President Fred Risser.
Presently, Wisconsin has a law exempting breast-feeding women from being charged with indecent exposure, but the proposed legislation would provide mothers with additional protections.
According to Risser, not only would the bill help reduce the embarrassment some women feel when breast-feeding, but would help improve the health of the overall community as well.
“It’s proven breast-feeding is good,” said Risser. “It would save a lot of health dollars if we had healthier babies. … Breast feeding does this.”
The bill was met with no opposition at the hearing, Risser added.
Senate Minority Leader Scott Fitzgerald, R-Juneau, agreed with Risser, according to Fitzgerald’s spokesperson, Kimberly Liedl.
“He’s supportive of [the proposal],” Liedl said. “I don’t foresee any problems with it from our caucus.”
The proposal has also received the support of Gov. Jim Doyle, according to his spokesperson Lee Sensenbrenner, who plans to sign the bill into law if it passes through the Legislature.
Community members have voiced their support for the proposal as well.
According to Anne Altshuler, La Leche Leader and member of Wisconsin Association of Lactation Consultants, the legislation is an important step in the rights of women who choose to breastfeed their children.
“I know that I’ve had many reports of people being harassed who have been asked to leave the mall, and go into a bathroom,” Altshuler said. “A bathroom is not a sanitary place for a baby to be fed.”
Altshuler added by putting women in a situation where they are less like to be harassed when breastfeeding, women are more likely to do “do the right thing” and breastfeed their children more frequently and for longer periods of time, increasing health benefits.
According to the United States Department of Health and Human Services website, breastfeeding offers a variety of benefits for both new mothers and their children, including higher IQ scores, increased bonding between mother and child and helps women lose their pregnancy weight more quickly.
Breastfeeding also provides economic benefits to families by reducing the nearly $2 billion Americans spend on baby formula each year.
Presently, 41 states and the U.S. Virgin Islands as well as Washington D.C., have similar laws, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. Massachusetts passed a comparable law in January.
A similar bill was introduced in the Senate during spring of 2007, and while it passed the Senate without any opposition, it died in committee in the Assembly. The present legislation will be referred to the appropriate Senate committee before being voted on by the Legislature.
