Do breastfeeding mothers require further protection?

    Doylestown Borough Council is one step closer to voting in protections against harrassment for breastfeeding mothers. With a state law already on the books, is the ordinance necessary?

    Moms in Doylestown have some extra protection against the sideways looks, snide comments and outright harrassment they might experience while breastfeeding in public.

    A committee voted on Thursday night to recommend that the Doylestown Borough Council change a local anti-discrimination ordinance to include the accommodation of nursing mothers, according to Doylestown Patch.

    Nursing mothers who experience harassment or who are asked to cover up or to leave a public place or business can now file a complaint with the borough for investigation.

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    Since 2007, Pennsylvania has had a law on the books to protect mothers. The state’s Freedom to Breastfeed Act stipulates that a mother may nurse her child in public without being considered a nuisance, and immune to accusations of indecent exposure, sexual conduct or obscenity.

    Have you witnessed harassment of nursing mothers? Do you think further protection is needed for them? Should efforts go toward promoting the existing law instead? Let us know in the comments below.

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