Breast feeding laws?

Question

Where can i find a web site that tells the laws on breast feeding in my state??!! (Viriginia) I looked but can't find much and all the sites i click on say Error! Thanks

So in reading this information below-- It means that if i were in a store of some kind , or in the mall, etc.. I could be legally asked to leave for breast feeding my child? Ohhh that would make me sooo mad! Thanks everyone

Answer 1

Va. Code 2.2-1147.1 (2002) guarantees a woman the right to breast-feed her child on any property owned, leased or controlled by the state. The bill also stipulates that childbirth and related medical conditions specified in the Virginia Human Rights Act include activities of lactation, including breast-feeding and expression of milk by a mother for her child. (H.B. 1264)

HJ 145 (2002) Encourages employers to recognize the benefits of breastfeeding and to provide unpaid break time and appropriate space for employees to breast-feed or express milk.

Va. Code § 18.2-387 (1994) exempts mothers engaged in breastfeeding from indecent exposure laws.

Va. Chapter No. 195 (2005) Provides that a mother who is breast-feeding a child may be exempted from jury duty upon her request. The mother need not be "necessarily and personally responsible for a child or children 16 years of age or younger requiring continuous care . . . during normal court hours" as the existing statute provides.

Answer 2

Can't imagine having to worry about that. Here in Ontario it's legal for women to go topless (not that you'd want to right now it's minus 25 with the wind chill) as for breastfeeding,you're practically told your a bad mother if your don't breastfeed. In private or in public. Or malls have specific nursing rooms for mothers to breastfeed. perhaps that's something worth looking into. good luck

Answer 3

La Leche League:
http://www.lalecheleague.org/Law/LawUS.html?m=0,1,0

Answer 4

Cant help with your question but here is a point of interest, in South Australia it is ILLEGAL for someone to tell you NOT to breastfeed in public......eg at a restaurant, eating court, etc etc. Goes to show you that babies need to be feed and it should be encouraged not shamed. Good luck *smiles*

Answer 5

there are no laws against breastfeeding in any state. there are laws to protect your right to breastfeed. but i'm not sure of the site sorry

Answer 6

Basically you can breast feed anywhere. However you could be requested to do it in a location that didn't involve a crowd gathering to watch.

Answer 7

50 State Summary of Breastfeeding Laws
Updated November 2006
Health professionals and public health officials promote breastfeeding to improve infant health. Both mothers and children benefit from breast milk. Breastfeeding helps prevent diarrhea and infections in infants. It also provides long-term preventive effects for the mother, including an earlier return to pre-pregnancy weight, reduced risk of pre-menopausal breast cancer and osteoporosis. According to the New York Times, about 70 percent of mothers start breastfeeding immediately after birth, but less than 20 percent of those moms are breastfeeding exclusively six months later. Healthy People 2010 objectives for the nation include increasing the proportion of mothers who breastfeed their babies in the early postpartum period to 75 percent. Nearly all states (46) have enacted legislation related to breastfeeding.

36 states have laws with language specifically allowing women to breastfeed in any public or private location (Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Carolina, Utah, Tennessee, Texas, and Vermont).
Twenty-one states exempt breastfeeding from public indecency laws (Alaska, Arizona, Florida, Illinois, Kentucky, Michigan, Mississippi, Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Virginia, Washington and Wisconsin).
Eleven states have laws related to breastfeeding in the workplace (California, Connecticut, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Minnesota, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Texas, and Washington).
Eleven states exempt breastfeeding mothers from jury duty (California, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Mississippi, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Oregon and Virginia).
Four states have implemented or encouraged the development of a breastfeeding awareness education campaign (California, Illinois, Missouri, and Vermont).
Virginia allows women to breastfeed on any land or property owned by the state.
Several states have unique laws related to breastfeeding. For instance,

California and Texas have laws related to the procurement, processing, distribution or use of human milk.
Louisiana prohibits any child care facility from discriminating against breastfed babies.
Maine requires courts, when awarding parental rights and responsibilities with respect to a child, to consider whether the child is under age one, and being breastfed.
Maryland exempts from the sales and use tax the sale of tangible personal property that is manufactured for the purpose of initiating, supporting or sustaining breastfeeding.
Mississippi provides for regulations for child care facilities to promote breastfeeding by mothers of children being cared for in the facility.
Rhode Island requires the Department of Health to prepare a consumer mercury alert notice, explaining the danger of eating mercury-contaminated fish to women who are pregnant or breastfeeding their children.

Answer 8

i didnt know there were laws about breastfeeding.