AZ Republic wants my comments!

[Kitten]

A reporter from the AZ Republic emailed me. I sent an email to the city council tellign them that they were going to make their city a laughingstock around the country, and saying that if they were going to regulate breastfeeding then they should regulate bottlefeeding in public too. The reporter wants to reprint part of my letter and get some more comment from me, since she was especially interested in the response from other parts of the country (I live in Madison). But YIKES talking to reporterse makes me nervous because in my experience they tend to take quotes out of context.

Can anyone give me any insight into the politics of the AZ Republic so I know if it's worth my time?

[zoomom]

I'm not sure of the "politics of the AZ Republic" but can let you know that it's highly read- I believe it has the highest circulation rate. I think it would be well worth your time, we need all the support we can get.

Let us know how it goes, and post a link when it gets printed! Do you remember the name of the reporter who contacted you? There have been a few other mommies on here who have also been contacted, but most (it appears) have been contacted by the AZ Tribune.

[Kitten]

It was Patricia Biggs, an editorial writer. Here's what I wrote back to her:

Ms. Biggs,
I learned about this issue online, both from a discussion board and from a
breastfeeding advocacy group of which I am a member.

I view the right to breastfeed a hungry baby as a civil rights issue. It is
simply a matter of a baby's right to eat. Segregating my 10 month old son
and relegating him to a public toilet violates his rights. No one would
ever question an artificially-fed baby's right to eat in public. No one
should ever question a nursing baby's right to eat in public either.

I do not and will not use bottles in public. I chose to breastfeed to avoid
the nuisance of bottles. I have nursed in public many, many times and no
one has ever questioned me. I don't think anyone has even noticed. Until I
became a mother, I never noticed nursing mothers either. I have seen much
more exposed flesh on teenagers (and adults!) in the mall, but Chandler
isn't passing laws to kick anyone off public property for showing butt
cleavage.

Nursing mothers are not naked party animals. What Chandler did was
unwarranted, unneeded, and family-unfriendly. My husband and I are glad
that we chose not to move to the Phoenix area after we graduated from
college. Our family just doesn't need that kind of harassment.

You can reprint my letter if you wish. My understanding of open-records
laws is that you don't need my permission anyway. Hope this helps. Let me
know if you need anything else.

She said she needed to finish the story by tomorrow (Wed.).

[zoomom]

Great letter, I'm so glad there's so much support from all over!

[dukeswalker]

Well, the AZ Republic is a really big newspaper - the biggest in AZ - it' fairly conservative (but, really, what paper isn't?) I'll be anxious to read the story!