This nursing mother was kicked off of an airplane--fair?

Question

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15720339/

Her side: Gillette said she was discreetly breast-feeding her 22-month-old daughter on Oct. 13 as their flight prepared to leave Burlington International Airport. She said she was seated by the window in the next-to-last row, her husband was seated between her and the aisle and no part of her breast was showing.

Their side: A flight attendant tried to hand her a blanket and told her to cover up, Gillette said. She declined, telling the flight attendant she had a legal right to breast-feed her baby.

Moments later, a Delta ticket agent approached and said the flight attendant had asked that the family be removed from the flight, Gillette said. She said she didn’t want to make a scene and complied

Fair? What do you think?

Answer 1

Breast feeding is perfectly natural....but so is urination, defication, hocking up a loogie, and a host of other bodily functions.

An airline has a right to decide what behavior is acceptable among it's passengers. Legally they did nothing wrong, and they did offer her an alternative which she refused.

Beyong the legality this is really a sociological question and you are going to get different answers from different people...which suggests that there is no true 'best answer'....

As a society we decide what is acceptable and what is not....and these rules or 'mores' change over time....often back and forth.

Answer 2

Well, she DOES have a right to breastfeed. I think she could have been discreet without disappearing under a blanket. Those blankets are fleecy... would the child have been able to breathe? Does the airline have the right to dictate what discretion is and how it is achieved? That may be a bit too much.

When I breast fed my daughter, which I did do in public, I used a nursing top or a flexible t-shirt underneath, another shirt that pulled up, so that I didn't look "naked," i.e. my belly didn't show because of the under t-shirt which was pulled down, nor the area above the breast, because of the over-shirt which was pulled up, and I would rest the top shirt just next to my daughter's lips. Of course, as with any successful nursing, the nipple and areola were completely in the child's mouth. I would have a receiving blanket or large diaper with me and lay that on top just for a little extra coverage. But I would never have put my child under a blanket because she needed to be able to breathe clean air, as did I.

I don't know, I wasn't there, but it sounds like some people were a little over the top. I've been on airplanes, nobody HAD to look at her. If the kid was a slurper (and some really are) a three-man tent wouldn't have protected the passengers' sensibilities from that. I also question the right of people who have not breast fed babies to state how it "should" be done. It's a little different for everyone. Once you've successfully breast-fed (not as easy as you'd think, for many women!) it makes more sense.

Answer 3

Well, I believe she does have a right to breastfeed her baby in public. But being that the child was 22 months old...she probably could have waited until the end of the flight to do that. Or given the child a sippy cup. However if the baby had been 6 months old...I would say she should have been able to do it. If you cover up too much with a blanket, the baby cannot breathe as good and he/she cannot see his mother. Its not just food. She should have been more modest ...there was probably some sort of scene made over her rights even though she complied and got off the flight. I guess the flight attendant should have tried to turn a blind eye, unless there were complaits to deal with.

Answer 4

Simply put if it happened in the US, it was illegal for her to be asked to leave. The law states a woman has a legal right to breastfeed ANY PLACE that woman has a right to be (meaning if she's trespassing or something, than legally she's not even supposed to be there. But she bought a ticket & had every right to be there & breast feed). She doesn't even have to be "discreet" or blocked from sight. She can nurse however or wherever she wants.
News flash folks - BREASTS are MADE for BREASTFEEDING. They aren't decorations for clothing or play things to entice men. Breasts are for nursing. She was only doing the most natural thing in the world. Why would anybody get all offended over this?
Yeah, 22 months seems like a little old for me to nurse my kids but it's not "nasty" for the woman to do it. It's just different in our culture. Some places nurse kids for 4 or 5 years.
Have any of you ever been on a plane??? There's no way anybody could have even noticed this woman nursing her child unless they went way out of their way to turn their head to see it.

Give me a nursing toddler on a plane over a screaming toddler on a plane ANYDAY!!!

I hope the woman gets a good attorney and sues Delta. They are a US company. They should know better!
It was totally unfair that she was asked to leave.
I hope all of the lactivist stage "nurse-ins" on a bunch of future flights. HA HA HA!
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Edit: I had to come back and add this to my post. I clicked on the link for the story & guess what was on the top banner ad??? A Victoria's Secret ad for some push up bra. The chick on that ad had a HUGE amount of cleaveage showing. I bet nobody complained about that. But heaven forbid somebody shows the same amount of flesh (or less) with a baby attached. Then all of a sudden they are vulgar, or indescreet!

Answer 5

Im sure that a law suite could result from such a thing. BREAST MILK is their FOOD! something is seriously friggen rong with the world when someone cannot feed their own baby discreetly on a plane. I have a serious problem with this. I would have caused a scene,.

Answer 6

it relatively is no longer worry-free to tell what rather happenedbecause the airlines and the mum are sharing conflicting comments. I actually have a toddler with specific needs and that i sympathize with the mum and her toddler...i actually do. the reality that the toddler has autism, i don't have self belief comes into play, right here. There are policies on an plane and for stable reason. The plane only can not take off except all human beings is belted in actual..if the mum would desire to no longer ascertain that her son became belted in, the the flight attendant has to realize this. of direction, the toddler would desire to have get admission to to air commute with actual looking accomodations...yet letting him roll around the floor isn't a real looking accomodation. Our daughter additionally has stress and plane rides are actually not worry-free, so we supply her drugs. Her well being care expert has never has a difficulty prescribing it. Face it, he wasn't in a eating place, he became in an plane and his habit became opposite to the policies the airlines have set in place for the passengers' protection. specific some training on specific needs would in all threat be a stable theory, yet only because of the fact a individual has a incapacity does no longer recommend they're exempt from policies. the policies that the airline became enforcing (his seatbelt, the shop on, etc) are the comparable policies they enforce for each passenger and there are very specific protection motives those policies are in place. no longer in effortless terms became the toddler endangering himself, he became endangering the othe passengers. I vote for the airline. They did what they had to do to to ascertain the protection of the different passengers. This toddler became NOTasked to leave the plane because of the fact he became autistic..he wa asked to leave because of the fact he would desire to no longer stick to the regulations for defense and his mom would desire to no longer ascertain that he gain this.

Answer 7

Well, 22 months is a little late to be breast feeding ( but some people say to do it for 2 years, so whatever) But she did have the right to breast feed her daughter,and I think the passengers would rather have this than a kid screaming.

Answer 8

Hmm. Well I don't think she should have been removed from the flight, she did nothing wrong. But I also don't think the flight attendant was out of line when she offered a blanket. I would have no problem with a woman breast feeding in public, but I would feel very comfortable if she used a blanket.

Answer 9

We all know breastmilk is best. Why all the drama? It comes from a BREAST hello...the same with cows. Why should I bottle it? It goes sour too quickly for a plane ride. And, the sucking helps with equalizing the ears.

I think people who believe babies should drink with a bottle should leave the rest of us alone. I was on a Continental flight and breastfed my son who kept pulling the blanket off...I'm glad no one said anything. I felt awkward enough...

One last thing...
People watch all kinds of crap on their TV, but when a mother does something perfectly natural (like feeding her baby) everyone goes crazy. The breast is NOT just a source for sexual attraction it is also a food source.

Answer 10

She was asked to cover up but refused to do so. It does not seem like a good idea to be openly uncooperative on an airplane the way things are today. The flight attendant did NOT tell her she could not breast feed her 22 month old toddler, but merely asked her to cover up. She ignored direction from the flight crew and was asked to leave the plane....this looks to me like another case of "The World Revolves Around Me And My Kid"