The House of Delegates Health
Committee has passed a bill (H.B. 4335) legally establishing a woman’s right to
breastfeed in public. West
Virginia
The legislation has been
introduced a number of times in recent years, but has failed to clear both
houses. During Wednesday’s committee meeting, Del. Barbara Fleischauer
(D-Monongalia) urged lawmakers to approve it.
“The best food for the baby is
breastfeeding,” Fleishauer said, and she blamed advertising for discouraging
women from breastfeeding.
“We have had a lot of advertising
for years, trying to convince women to use formula instead of the best food for
the baby,” Fleischauer said.
As proposed, the bill says a mother
may breastfeed in any location open to the public, provided that the mother
uses discretion.
The bill now goes to the House Judiciary Committee.
