New York Civil Liberties Union
125 Broad Street, New York, NY 10004
www.nyclu.org
Toys R Us Violates Civil Law by Barring Breastfeeding in Store, NYCLU
Warns
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT:
Maggie Gram, 212.607.3344 / 845.553.0349 / mgram@nyclu.org
September 14, 2006 -- The NYCLU today warned the Toys R Us company that
it had violated civil rights law by telling a mother that she could not
breastfeed her infant in a store.
A saleswoman approached Chelsi Meyerson after she began to breastfeed
her seven-month-old son in an out-of-the-way section of the Toys R Us
store on 42nd Street in Manhattan, where she was shopping with her
family. The saleswoman informed Meyerson that she was not "allowed" to
breastfeed in the store unless she moved to the basement, and that her
breastfeeding was "inappropriate" because there were "children around."
When Meyerson asserted that she was in the right and refused to move,
four more store employees harassed her, and the original saleswoman
called security.
"Breastfeeding is not a crime, and the right to breastfeed is simply not
a right that I am willing to give up," Meyerson said. "This incident was
humiliating and dismaying. I'm asking Toys R Us to guarantee that it
will never happen again."
The NYCLU sought a meeting with Toys R Us officials; an apology;
appropriate compensation for Meyerson; and a written guarantee that Toys
R Us would permit breastfeeding in its stores and would train its staff
about the policy.
"It's ironic that a store that caters to children would prohibit a
mother from doing what is best for her child," said Donna Lieberman,
NYCLU Executive Director. "One would think that Toys R Us would have
moved past the puritanical notions that this incident reflects."
Added Galen Sherwin, Staff Attorney for the NYCLU Reproductive Rights
Project: "This is about public health, not public morality."
Twelve years ago the New York Civil Liberties Union lobbied for and
secured the passage of a law that specifically establishes the right of
all New York mothers to breastfeed in public. That statute, a section of
New York State's Civil Rights Law, provides that "a mother may
breastfeed her baby in any location, public or private, where the mother
is otherwise authorized to be."
"Prohibiting public breastfeeding is bad public health policy -- and
it's also against the law," said Elisabeth Benjamin, NYCLU Reproductive
Rights Project Director. "Health care providers and the law agree that
families who choose to breastfeed their children should be able to do so
whenever and wherever necessary."
The NYCLU's letter will be available this afternoon on its website,
http://www.nyclu.org.
- xxx
125 Broad Street, New York, NY 10004
www.nyclu.org
Toys R Us Violates Civil Law by Barring Breastfeeding in Store, NYCLU
Warns
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT:
Maggie Gram, 212.607.3344 / 845.553.0349 / mgram@nyclu.org
September 14, 2006 -- The NYCLU today warned the Toys R Us company that
it had violated civil rights law by telling a mother that she could not
breastfeed her infant in a store.
A saleswoman approached Chelsi Meyerson after she began to breastfeed
her seven-month-old son in an out-of-the-way section of the Toys R Us
store on 42nd Street in Manhattan, where she was shopping with her
family. The saleswoman informed Meyerson that she was not "allowed" to
breastfeed in the store unless she moved to the basement, and that her
breastfeeding was "inappropriate" because there were "children around."
When Meyerson asserted that she was in the right and refused to move,
four more store employees harassed her, and the original saleswoman
called security.
"Breastfeeding is not a crime, and the right to breastfeed is simply not
a right that I am willing to give up," Meyerson said. "This incident was
humiliating and dismaying. I'm asking Toys R Us to guarantee that it
will never happen again."
The NYCLU sought a meeting with Toys R Us officials; an apology;
appropriate compensation for Meyerson; and a written guarantee that Toys
R Us would permit breastfeeding in its stores and would train its staff
about the policy.
"It's ironic that a store that caters to children would prohibit a
mother from doing what is best for her child," said Donna Lieberman,
NYCLU Executive Director. "One would think that Toys R Us would have
moved past the puritanical notions that this incident reflects."
Added Galen Sherwin, Staff Attorney for the NYCLU Reproductive Rights
Project: "This is about public health, not public morality."
Twelve years ago the New York Civil Liberties Union lobbied for and
secured the passage of a law that specifically establishes the right of
all New York mothers to breastfeed in public. That statute, a section of
New York State's Civil Rights Law, provides that "a mother may
breastfeed her baby in any location, public or private, where the mother
is otherwise authorized to be."
"Prohibiting public breastfeeding is bad public health policy -- and
it's also against the law," said Elisabeth Benjamin, NYCLU Reproductive
Rights Project Director. "Health care providers and the law agree that
families who choose to breastfeed their children should be able to do so
whenever and wherever necessary."
The NYCLU's letter will be available this afternoon on its website,
http://www.nyclu.org.
- xxx
Wow, I bf'd all the time in mine. I thought they all went out of business, anyway?
:
GL to you NY mamas!
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