…and breast-feeding on planes?
(2 votes, average: 4 out of 5)
Loading ...
Posted on: March 31st, 2008 by Andrew Bones
The American state of Vermont is a fairly progressive place, and amongst its anti discrimination laws is one that says there is a ‘prohibition against discrimination against women breast feeding in public.’ A human rights group has ruled that Freedom Airlines violated the law when it forced a breast-feeding mother off a plane in 2006.
Gillette began to breast-feed her daughter and a flight attendant brought her a blanket and told her to cover herself. When she refused, she was asked to leave the plane.
A commission heard the case last week and has come back saying that it believes Freedom Airlines has violated Vermont’s rule that prohibits discrimination against breast-feeding mothers in public. A lawsuit could be filed if an agreement is not reached between the airline and the woman who was forced to leave the airplane, Emily Gillette.
She says, “I feel like it’s really important for us to show up as a sign of gratitude for everything the state has done to uphold its laws, and to show up for the commission, who have put so much time and effort into investigating this case.”
jack
My first question would be WHY on earth is a “mother” breast feeding a child that is almost TWO YEARS old? This Emily Gillette seems like a real oddball to me.
jill
my first question is why are women still treated like second class citizens? if she were showing her breasts for a man’s entertainment instead of feeding a child, nobody would care.
The Mommy Blawger
Jack - perhaps you are not aware that the World Health Organization and the American Academy of Family Physicians recommend that babies be breastfed until age two. Even the conservative American Academy of Pediatrics says that babies should be breastfed at least until age one, “and thereafter for as long as mother and baby desire”. AAP goes on to state, “There is no upper limit to the duration of breastfeeding and no evidence of psychologic or developmental harm from breastfeeding into the third year of life or longer.”
And, as anyone who has been on an airplane with a cranky, hungry toddler knows, Emily Gillete was being CONSIDERATE, not an oddball.