Breastfeeding 1-2-3

Finding State Breastfeeding Laws

by Angela White, J.D., breastfeeding counselor on November 20th, 2007

The poll results on carrying a copy of the state breastfeeding laws on nursing in public revealed that 11.4% of voters would like to carry a copy of their state’s law but they don’t have a copy. So I thought I’d take this opportunity to talk about how to obtain a copy of a particular state’s breastfeeding laws. (I assume the process would be much the same in countries outside the United States. A good place to start in the U.S. or elsewhere is with your local La Leche League leader, who would be happy to help). Because I have just moved to California (a very breastfeeding-friendly state compared to my old home state of Michigan), I will use California as an example.

1. Start at the National Conference of State Legislatures page on breastfeeding laws. Scroll down to your particular state, in this case, California. Note that not all states have laws about breastfeeding and the entry for such states will be blank. As I said though, California is a pretty breastfeeding-friendly state and the so the NCSL site lists several laws. I’ve put the breastfeeding in public law in bold:

Cal. Civil Code § 210.5 (2000) allows the mother of a breastfed child to postpone jury duty for one year and specifically eliminates the need for the mother to appear in court to request the postponement. The law also provides that the one-year period may be extended upon written request of the mother. [Chap. 266 (AB 1814)]

Cal. Health and Safety Code § 1647 (1999) declares that the procurement, processing, distribution or use of human milk for the purpose of human consumption is considered to be a rendition of service rather than a sale of human milk. [Chap. 87 (AB 532)]

Cal. Assembly Concurrent Resolution 155 (1998) encourages the state and employers to support and encourage the practice of breastfeeding, by striving to accommodate the needs of employees, and by ensuring that employees are provided with adequate facilities for breastfeeding and expressing milk for their children. The resolution memorializes the governor to declare by executive order that all state employees be provided with adequate facilities for breast feeding and expressing milk.

Cal. Civil Code § 43.3 (1997) allows a mother to breastfeed her child in any location, public or private, except the private home or residence of another, where the mother and the child are otherwise authorized to be present. (AB 157)

Cal. Assembly Concurrent Resolution 95 (1996) proclaims the week of August 1 through 7, 1996, as Breastfeeding Awareness Week.

Cal. Health and Safety Code § 123360, 123365 (1995) requires the Department of Health Services to include in its public service campaign the promotion of mother who breastfeed their infants. The law requires hospitals to make available a breastfeeding consultant or alternatively, provide information to the mother on where to receive breastfeeding information. (AB 973, AB 977)

Cal. Assembly Concurrent Resolution 41 (1995) proclaims August 1 through 7, 1995, Breastfeeding Awareness Week.

Cal. Lab. Code § 1030, 1031, 1032, 1033 (2001) Employers need to allow a break and a provide a room for a mother who desires to milk in private.

2. Use a search engine to find the state legislature page where you can look up the full text of the law. I “Googled” the term “California state legislature” and readily found the California State Legislature page.

3. Generally the state legislature page will contain a link to a site to look up the text of particular laws. In this case, I want to look up California Civil Code § 43.3, so I click on the link for “Laws and Constitution” then “Search California Code” which takes me to the California Law page. I click on “Civil Code” and type in “43.3″ in the keyword search field. The first item found includes section 43.3, which states in full:

43.3. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a mother may breastfeed her child in any location, public or private, except the
private home or residence of another, where the mother and the child are otherwise authorized to be present.

4. Print out a copy of the law.

5. If you wish, check to see whether there are any breastfeeding-related bills pending in the legislature. That involves going back to the state legislature page, and in my case, clicking on “Bill Information” followed by “Bill Search.” Using the keyword search feature (I could use a particular bill number if I already knew one), I search for variations of “breastfeeding,” “breast feeding,” and “breast,” just to make sure I’ve covered all the bases. Several items pop up but the most interesting is Senate Bill 22, passed by the legislature, and approved by the governor on October 11, 2007. It requires “the State Department of Public Health to recommend specified training that is intended to improve breast-feeding rates among mothers and infants for general acute care hospitals and special hospitals that provide maternity care, and that have exclusive patient breast-feeding rates in the lowest 25%.” Cool.

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POSTED IN: activism, breastfeeding, law, nursing in public