Indiana Mother Faces Breastfeeding Discrimination in Restaurant

Audrey Taylor, a resident of Indiana was recently asked to leave a restaurant after she began breastfeeding her three-month-old son. She explains how she has a routine where she remains covered the entire time and has everything prepared for the duration so that if she is disrupting anyone, it wouldn’t be for long. Despite all of this though, she was still asked to leave.

According to the restaurant, another patron complained to a manager about her and then that manager asked her to exit the restaurant while she breastfeeds.  Audrey was incredibly embarrassed and after that, she and her husband left.

The restaurant has since made a statement apologizing profusely to the Taylors and stating that its policy is to always allow mothers to breastfeed in the restaurant without complaint. The spokesman also states how it wasn’t their intention for the Taylors to leave and that the situation was handled poorly by those involved.

Breastfeeding in public has been an issue for many years now. Each state has its own laws; however, the federal law that was established was issued in 1999 stating that a mother can breastfeed her child at any location in a federal building or on federal property. And then, after many complaints regarding treatment of breastfeeding mothers, 2011 brought about laws in 49 states that allowed mothers to breastfeed in public without being charged with public indecency. West Virginia remains the only state to disallow public breastfeeding.

Audrey Taylor lives in Indiana where it is illegal to ask her to leave due to breastfeeding her child. She explains how she wants what is best for her baby’s growth and that includes breastfeeding. Mothers know that children need to be fed frequently, and there isn’t always a private area available for use. Women are usually quite good about keeping everything covered and so the only discomfort that others are experiencing is caused by the natural act of feeding a child.

There have been many instances recently where mothers have been asked to leave public places for breastfeeding that have caused controversy. These events not only angered the people directly involved, but other members of their community. Many sit-ins have occurred in reaction to stores, restaurants, etc. not allowing women to feed their children.

Though in America it is almost completely legal to breastfeed in public, there are still many prejudices and uneasiness with it. For women who are asked to leave, if you are in a state other than West Virginia, it is your right to breastfeed wherever it is needed.