What to do when your state has ZERO laws protecting you?

[RolliePollie]

I live in WV. And there are no laws protecting a BFing mom. What would happen if I was confronted since there is no legal protection? And btw, we have one of the lowest BF rates of any state.

[hippiemommaof4]

write whomever will listen and try to fight for laws to be put there for you and others. Make a yahoo group of nursing moms in the state . you could all write in to your congressman etc. and good luck. If someone ever confronts you and it gets ugly just threaten legal action, thats about all you can do and getting the bug in everyones ear that wv women need protection is the way to start.

[MaryJaneLouise]

A confident, dismissive attitude will get you a long way. If someone confronts you, just say, "You have no right to ask me to move / cover / stop bfing." Which is true.

If it is a business owner or representative, start with the above and say, "Would you like me to notify FirstRight that you are infringing on my rights as a mother? I'm sure they could generate a lot of publicity about this." Then and carry on.

Most state laws are totally wishy washy anyway. They don't have any enforcement provision, and so no consequences if someone DOES harass you for bfing.

[HeatherRenee]

The lack of a state law does not mean that it is illegal to breastfeed in public.

This was taken from the LLL website under laws. I would just say what the previous posters said, and then let the person know that it is not illegal to breastfeed in public.

Your state probably has the lowest rate because they are afraid to BF because there are no "laws" to protect. I would write to your Representatives and let them know there need to be changes!