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Mothers May Now Breastfeed With Abandon At Barnes & Noble
By
Lauren Evans
Published Jul 9, 2014
Modified Jul 9, 2014
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By
Lauren Evans
Published Jul 9, 2014
Modified Jul 9, 2014
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Mothers looking to breastfeed are entitled to do so anywhere they damn well please, but a particular safe haven can now be found amid the stacks in Barnes & Noble stores, thanks to a new agreement forged with the attorney general.
Following an incident in which a breastfeeding mother was told to knock it off or get out of the chain's Nanuet, New York location on March 16, the Attorney General's Civil Rights Bureau today announced an agreement with the company that will essentially strengthen an already extant law allowing mothers to breast feed in any location they are otherwise permitted to be, without swaddling herself in a blanket or towel.
Specifically, the agreement requires Barnes & Noble to improve its handling of customer complaints from breastfeeding mothers, train all New York store employees and managers that they are not to interfere with a mother’s right to breastfeed at its stores, as well as display the international symbol for breastfeeding at the entrances to its New York stores, which looks like this. The company must also pay $10,000 to Rockland County in support of its Breastfeeding Promotion and Support Program.
“All New York residents, including breastfeeding mothers, must be afforded equal protection under the law,” Attorney General Eric Schneiderman said in a statement. “No mother should endure harassment for breastfeeding her baby in public."
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breastfeeding
Lauren Evans
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