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Here we go again -- another public breastfeeding scandal! And this one took place in a government building, the one public place where you'd think a mother would be safe to breastfeed. But no!
Simone dos Santos left a courtroom and went into an empty hallway to feed her 4-month-old baby. She wore two jackets and covered herself even more with a cloth. But it wasn't enough to keep two female security guards away. She was ordered to stop nursing. Fortunately, Simone is a sharp attorney who knows her rights.
In Washington D.C. breastfeeding in public is legal -- just like it is practically everywhere. Simone lost no time in building a case in her defense. She called her law firm and got a pro-bono adviser who found the laws protecting public breastfeeding, she got the names of the security guards, and she even got the name and number of their supervisor -- all before she was called back in for her hearing in traffic court! That's some fast, proactive moving.
Simone filed a case with the D.C. Office of Human Rights. She's hoping guards will get better training in breastfeeding laws. And she wants all women to know, "We as nursing women have rights. It's a natural, legally protected process and people need to understand that," as she told ABC7.
Barely a month ago another mom, Natalie Hegedus was also harassed for breastfeeding in a government building -- but that time she was actually in the courtroom, and it was the judge who chose to embarrass her. Every time I hear about these public nursing stories my hair stands on end. When will people get it? This is something natural women do to feed their babies. And now that we have LAWS protecting moms' rights to nurse in public, people who work for the government especially need to get with the program.
Are you shocked to hear so many stories about moms being hassled for breastfeeding in public?
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