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Hiiiiiii it's meeeeee
Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: Germany
Posts: 25,574
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Ongoing Coverage of Breastfeeding Mom Kicked off Plane
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Lone Star Mamas "Try, Try Again" at Airport Nurse-In, with Banner Results
By Amy Philo
December 4, 2006
Dallas, Texas area mothers stood up for the right to breastfeed in public this past November 21, as part of the nationwide nurse-in at Delta ticket counters. The airport security at DFW approached the moms shortly after they arrived at the terminal. The first officer who approached the mothers informed the mothers they would have to leave because what they were doing was considered picketing and they needed a permit, and also, told them what they were doing was inappropriate, with the use of many rude and unnecessary words. Two more officers joined the first, and also told the mothers they would have to leave. The mothers pointed out to the officers that Texas law has no requirements for any sort of protocol while breastfeeding, and, additionally, Texas law allows women to go topless. However, one officer repeatedly threatened the moms with possible arrest for "indecent exposure" or "disorderly conduct." This officer also stated that his wife had breastfed their children, and they do not believe in "artificial feeding."
The mothers sought the permit at airport administration, but were told it takes at least three business days and requires a written statement. Once the permit application was in, the airport's legal department advised the organizers of the follow-up nurse-in that they did not need a permit. The mothers had been well within their rights the first time they held a nurse-in. Although the run-around was frustrating, the Texas mothers felt vindicated that their persistence brought this to light.
They quickly planned a second nurse-in for December 1. This time, several local news stations covered the event. The airport issued a statement to the press, which claimed that the officers at the first nurse-in handled the situation with the utmost respect and sensitivity. They claimed that the officers had not harassed the mothers at all, and that the mothers had been distributing literature and holding up signs, which was why they were asked to leave. The mothers at the first nurse-in were not distributing literature. They were holding small 8 x 10 inch signs, which were not derogatory in nature, and the mothers were never asked to put the signs away.
Ironically, the interference of police allowed more time to plan the second nurse-in. Although the first nurse-in had 5 moms and 9 kids in attendance, 27 adults and 28 children showed up the second time, as well as several media organizations.
Join Mothering lactivists in discussion about the Dallas Nurse-In.
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Dallas/Ft. Worth Nurse-In This Friday
November 29, 2006
Texas mothers plan another nurse-in at Dallas-Fort Worth Airport (DFW) this Friday, December 1, 2006, at 10 a.m. at the Delta counter in Terminal E of the airport.
On November 21, Dallas- and Fort Worth-area moms and their children held a nurse-in at the DFW airport, one of 39 nurse-ins held across the country. They were turned away by airport police, based on the complaint that they were "baring their breasts." The women were told that they would need a permit to hold the nurse-in, and were asked to leave. When they later requested a permit from airport officials for this Friday's nurse-in, they were informed that a permit is not required for a peaceful gathering inside the airport. The mothers are gathering Friday, again at the DFW Airport, for another nurse-in to protest Delta's actions against Emily Gillette and her family (read the full story below) and to demand rights for breastfeeding mothers and children.
Read more about Texas moms and their lactivism in our Texas Lactivism discussion.
Source: www.breastfeeding123.com
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National Airport Nurse-in a Huge Success
November 29, 2006
Last week, nearly 800 participants at 39 airports across the United States proclaimed a call to action on the breastfeeding rights of children and mothers.
On October 13th, 2006, Emily Gillette and her family were ejected before takeoff from a Freedom air flight, because the flight attendant was offended by Mrs. Gillette, who was breastfeeding her child and refused to cover her baby's head with an airline blanket.
Following a slow and insufficient response from Mesa/Freedom Airlines, a commuter affiliate of Delta Airlines, women across the country vowed to shed light on the continuing contradictions between public policies that strongly encourage breastfeeding and current attitudes that deny breastfeeding mothers and children a welcome place in the public sphere.
Although the American Association of Pediatrics and World Health Organization both recommend a year and/or more of nursing for young children, and despite a recent National Breastfeeding Awareness Campaign in the U.S., too many women face obstacles to breastfeeding due to a patchwork of little known state laws and poor business employee training policies.
Awaiting action by the Vermont Human Rights Commission regarding the Freedom Airlines incident, the grassroots lactivist movement continues to demand action in the following areas:
Delta and Mesa/Freedom must apologize personally to the Gillette family and offer written proof that policy and training procedures have been changed.
The airline industry should revisit their breastfeeding policies and employee-training methods, and remove obstacles to the transportation of pumped breast milk on aircrafts.
Passage of pending legislation that offers civil rights protection for breastfeeding women in the workplace. American workers trained to respect breastfeeding at work will begin to affect the cultural shift that must happen if we are to move beyond the ambivalence in some segments of society today.
Adoption of the new open domain breastfeeding accessibility icon to support families and affirm the basic human right of children to eat and receive comfort at the breast when and where they must.
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And further reading and also share their experiences in those link.
Ongoing Coverage of Breastfeeding Mom Kicked off Plane - News Bulletins November 2006
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