Conservatively Speaking
State Senator Mary Lazich (R-New Berlin) represents parts of four counties: Milwaukee, Waukesha, Racine, and Walworth. Her Senate District 28 includes New Berlin, Franklin, Greendale, Hales Corners, Muskego, Waterford, Big Bend and parts of Greenfield, East Troy, and Mukwonago. Senator Lazich has been in the Legislature for more than a decade. She considers herself a tireless crusader for lower taxes, reduced spending and smaller government.
The breast-feeding bill
By Mary Lazich
Monday, May 7 2007, 06:23 AM
The state Senate Health Committee that I serve on will hold a public hearing Tuesday, May 15, 2007 on Senate Bill 30, a bill to allow breast-feeding in public.
I want to make sure that the public is clear about the details of this bill. This bill is not about the merits of breast-feeding. It is not about whether breast-feeding is healthy or unhealthy. This legislation specifically would allow breast-feeding in any public or private place.
The Legislative Reference Bureau (LRB) provides this analysis of Senate Bill 30:
“This bill permits a mother to breast-feed her child in any public or private location where she is otherwise authorized to be.”
There’s more to this bill, including punishment for anyone attempting to, for whatever reason, interfere with a woman breast-feeding. However, the word interfere is not defined.
The LRB also writes in its analysis that Senate Bill 30, “prohibits any person from interfering with the right of a mother to breast−feed her child as provided in the bill. Because no penalty is expressed in the bill for interfering with that right, a person who interferes with that right is subject to a forfeiture not to exceed $200 under the general penalty provision under current law.”
The public needs to be aware of what exactly this bill entails.
