Per usual, I have been casting glances toward the Montana legislative session only as often as sanity allows. I did call in a few weeks back to support Bozeman Representative Franke Wilmer's attempts to pass a law that would grant a jury duty exemption for nursing mothers. As it stands now, nursing moms are expected to serve on juries with no regard to their unusual situation of being the sole food-giving source for another human being--and no accommodation made for, say, pumping, which could allow a woman to serve effectively.
I wondered when I first heard about the bill whether there was a story behind Wilmer's decision to introduce the legislation, and it turns out that there most certainly was. Today's Bozeman Chronicle describes the predicament one nursing mom found herself in when she was called for jury duty:
What happened thereafter, Roche told a House panel on Tuesday, highlights why it’s bad policy to make breastfeeding mothers serve on juries: Her babysitter was 10 minutes late picking Clyde up, so Roche brought him into the courtroom. When the baby started to fuss, the judge ordered that Clyde be taken from Roche, she said.
“He got upset and I got upset, as you can imagine,” Roche said.
When Roche’s babysitter did arrive, Roche tried to hand her car keys off to the court clerk. That was the last straw for the judge, who charged Roche with contempt of court. She was fined and given 24 hours jail time (all of the jail time was suspended.)
Wow. How many different kinds of asshat was that judge? Here is a woman trying desperately to give her all to her baby while still fulfilling her civic duty--going so far as to have the baby brought to her so that she can feed him on breaks, presumably at her own expense--and being smacked down by a judge who, apparently, had all his compassion surgically removed in law school. (I'm assuming the judge was male, but I can't rule out a woman being this dumb, either.) What gives, your honor? I really don't want to think about someone that petty deciding the fate of others on a daily basis.
According to the article, no one spoke against the bill during the hearing, although it goes on to say that "members of the panel did wonder aloud if the bill would help people skirt their civic duty."
You're darn tootin', Keith. I know that, personally, I would have given up breastfeeding ages ago if not for my intense fear of jury duty. Continuing to nurse my daughter is totally easier than serving on a jury--provided that the trial goes on for at least a year and requires me to allow another human being round-the-clock access to my boobs.
This is a common-sense bill that, frankly, would not be necessary if breastfeeding were not regarded in some quarters as the kind of deviant behavior that only hippies engage in. It boggles the mind. May the committee see the light.