According to one judge, he thinks it is illegal and inappropriate to breastfeed in court, so he kicked a mom (who was there for a boating violation) out of his courtroom. Natalie Hegedus took to the popular community of BabyCenter to share the experience, which has been picked up by the
Huffington Post and other news outlets. Hegedus says her 5 month old was hungry, so she discreetly started to breastfeed him - in the back of the courtroom.
She reports that when the judge called her name (as luck would have it, right when she started to nurse), she replied with a "Just a minute.", probably to unlatch her son and fix her top, the judge asked her if she thought it was appropriate to feed her son in his court.
Her response?
"Considering the fact that my son is hungry, and he's sick, and the fact that it's not illegal, I don't find it inappropriate ... And the judge said something to the effect of 'It's my court, it's my decision and I do find it inappropriate."No mother should be called out and humiliated for feeding her child, whether it's breast or bottle it shouldn't matter. All she wanted to do was feed her child, and she did so discreetly to not draw attention to herself.
Do you think the judge was out of line?
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Comments (178)
i think he was extremely out of line. and it's not illegal to breastfeed wherever the mom is allowed to be, at least in south carolina. had a mom been feeding her child formula he wouldn't have said a word. jerk.
Yes he was totally out of line the baby needed fed and unless the judge was ready to allow her to leave the court room long enough to do so he needs to keep his trap shut but the most judges are control freaks
Yes, he was out of line.
THANK GOD! FINALLY!
He didn't say it was illegal. He said it was inappropriate. It is inappropriate to breastfeed your child in a freaking COURTROOM, YEAH.
Please do not bother responding to my comment explaining how unspeakably jaded I am or how I must not be a mother or how I'm going to hell or how you hope I someday am in that same awkward decision blablabla. Nothing you say can change my mind that this judge fucking OWNS.
@AffinityInUnderstanding@xanga - I knew this lady who had one of those things that she draped over her chest so you couldn't see any part of the baby, and I see nothing wrong with that in public. However, if you're just poppin' out your boob for your kid to have a little suckle, go to the Ladies Room. There's a reason for that door--privacy.
@AffinityInUnderstanding@xanga - I agree. I would feel extremely uncomfortable if someone whipped out their tit and started breastfeeding. Maybe it's just me (and you xD), but I agree with the judge.
People don't take the courtroom seriously anymore. They do not have any respect for it. It's a shame. If he's hungry, discreetly slip out and tell the bailiff you've gone to the restroom. I've seen mothers do it multiple times when I worked in the courts, and a judge will have no problem shuffling your case back a person or two until you are done.
@jmeLove_x@xanga - I feel there is NOTHING wrong with excusing yourself from the courtroom to breastfeed. The judge would have understood that. I mean, where does all this end? Your baby has a shitty diaper, you gonna change THAT in the courtroom too? NO. You're gonna go out and change it in private. Breastfeeding is no different.
I'm sorry, but it is inappropriate. It's a COURTROOM. You shouldn't be breastfeeding a child in there. Take them outside if they're hungry, but to feed them in a court is honestly really disrespectful and unnecessary.
@AffinityInUnderstanding@xanga - Actually, I agree. There are places where it's okay to breastfeed, but a courtroom isn't one of them. Period.
Way to be a complete douche bag, judge.
People care more about the courtroom than they do about a hungry baby. So sad. I mean, honestly.
First of all, she was DISCREET. She wasn't just hanging her boob out and letting everyone take a peak. Secondly, she was in the BACK of the coutroom. Way to blow the whole thing out of proportion and be complete ass. Humiliate the poor woman, who's just trying to feed her baby, not be the center of some freak show. He drew attention to something that probably hardly anyone noticed. Yeah, way to go, jerk.
Also, I can't STAND when people offer up the restroom as place to feed a baby. No one eats in there, neither should a baby. But, if you would eat your meal in a bathroom, then we'll talk.
I think it's a shame that in this country with sleazy tv shows and sleazy ads all over the freaking place, people get their panties in a twist over a mother who was simply FEEDING HER CHILD. Yeah, it's okay to have more boob exposed in a an ad, than it is for a breastfeeding mom to show. A lot of times, you don't see ANYTHING more than you'd see on someone dressed scantily clad. I mean, c'mon.
If frustrates me to no end how mothers are shamed into the restroom or shamed into draping a blanket over themselves as to not "offend" anyone. If more people would EDUCATE themselves and, you know, avert their blasted eyes, maybe more mothers would be comfortable breasfeeding more. But no, the shame continues.
And then there's the whole comparing it to peeing, pooping, sex, changing a diaper in public statements. I won't even get into that because that's such a STUPID comparison that doesn't even work. Apples and oranges, people. Apples and oranges.
It's just a shame, really. Such an awful shame.
Boobs are for feeding babies. It's not like she was just whipping it out. She tried her best to be discreet, but she had to feed her baby. And sorry, I think it's weird to ask a woman to breastfeed in a bathroom. You seriously expect someone to sit on the toilet to feed their kid?
If she had done this in the middle of court, it would have been inappropriate. But she did the best she could in her circumstance, and when baby is hungry, baby needs food. Boob = food. People need to stop getting so worked up about breastfeeding and boobs.
Sorry, going with Affinityinunderstanding on this one... Definitely innapropriate. In fact, I'm not even sure why she HAD her child in the court room to begin with. A courtroom is a place to be respected, like church and several other places...
Breastfeeding is a PERSONAL thing between a mother and her child and should be KEPT personal.
Unless there literally IS no other option, and you have a cover. Otherwise? It's totally innapropriate to whip it out and feed. :P
@Megabyyte@xanga - "I think it's a shame that in this country with sleazy tv shows and sleazy ads all over the freaking place, people get their panties in a twist over a mother who was simply FEEDING HER CHILD. "
Were they showing any of those sleazy TV shows and TV ads in the courtroom? If not, what is the point of bringing them up here?
"If more people would EDUCATE themselves and, you know, avert their blasted eyes, maybe more mothers would be comfortable breasfeeding more. But no, the shame continues."
So if the mother decided to change the baby's diaper in the courtroom, or bring the baby's favorite toy that happens to make loud noises that would disrupt a court proceeding, then the courtroom should make way? If the baby won't stop crying unless it listened to Mozart on full blast, should the courtroom acquiesce? At what point does it become inappropriate?
A baby's needs are important, indeed... but they could have been easily handled outside the courtroom. It's not necessary that the mother breastfeed the baby in the courtroom. This isn't the mother's living room; it's a courtroom.
@Megabyyte@xanga - it's not about it being offensive, it's about it being a courtroom. Courtrooms are not places for young children anyway, but to start breastfeeding without even asking whether it's okay is wrong. I have nothing wrong with mothers breastfeeding in public, but courtrooms are not the place for that.
Also, there's no need for the women to "go to a restroom and breastfeed sitting on the toilet". She could easily just go out into the corridor and breasfteed there. Courtooms are not for breastfeeding babies. If your child is hungry, take them outside and feed them. You wouldn't whip out a sandwich and start eating it in court, so why is it okay for a baby to do the equivalent?
A mother who takes her sick infant to court is committing child abuse. A mother who breast feeds her child in public is degrading the civility of her environment.
Breast feeding is natural, but so is taking a crap. We don't take craps in courtrooms. Farting is natural but civilized people try not to do it in court.
We also wipe our butts out of view of a courtroom judge.
My goodness people! Are the barbarians really at the gate?
@QuantumStorm@xanga - Obviously, I don't agree with discreetly breastfeeding in a courtroom to be inapropriate. People find it inappropriate in restaurants, malls, pretty much any public place. That's why I brought up the sleazy ads and tv shows. I was just talking in general...
I see NOTHING wrong with her quietly, discreetly FEEDING her child. To compare that to blasting music or changing a babies diaper... seriously? I'm not suggesting that's okay. Geez. We're talking about breastfeeding here. If she had stood up and nursed her baby while the judge was dealing with her case, I could understand THAT being disrespectful. That's not what we're talking about here and I just feel MOST people are blowing this way out of proportion.
@written_conversations@xanga - Ugh, I realize that. But people always seem to suggest the bathroom, even in some of the comments here... which Is why I brought it up. You obviously have your opinion that it's inappropriate. I don't think it is. That's it. She wasn't hanging her boob out for all to see, she wasn't puprosefully drawing attention to herself and she didn't continue to nurse when the judge called her name, she was just quietly nursing her child, discreetly in the back. I see no harm in that. That's just my opinion.
@Megabyyte@xanga - "If she had stood up and nursed her baby while the judge was dealing with her case, I could understand THAT being disrespectful. That's not what we're talking about here"
So if the mother discreetly changed the babies diapers in court, would you be okay with that? Expanding on it further, if a person discreetly ate a pizza, or discreetly texted, or discreetly Facebooked in court, would those be okay too?
" and I just feel MOST people are blowing this way out of proportion."
Correct - like the people who objected to the judge's decision. This is a courthouse, not the mother's living room. If she wanted to breastfeed she could do it somewhere else, just like with any other person who has a basic need that must be fulfilled (eating, drinking, using the restroom, etc). Those are natural processes too and yet I don't see you arguing that they should be allowed in the courtroom as well.
@Megabyyte@xanga - I doubt she was all that discreet if a judge noticed her in a courtroom full of people from the front of the room. Many courthouses have private rooms where a mother can feed her child. Many also have a room for children and allow breastfeeding there. A courtroom is not the place to do it, and I guarantee you that many other people did see her breastfeeding, but hadn't the balls to say something. A courtroom is meant to be deeply respected and taken seriously. She had other options to feed her child and she should have taken them. You don't whip out your breast to have a child suck on it in front of a judge and his court. That is not only his territory, it is the territory of the state and country. There is a time and place; the courtroom is neither.
She was being discreet, which was out of respect for those around her (and I know I'd have appreciated that) but to those of you who say that she should have went to the bathroom to feed her baby...if you know babies, you know that they don't understand the difference between what's "appropriate" and what's not...when they're hungry, they're hungry. Besides, would you want to take your lunch in a bathroom? You know what happens when you flush a toilet, right? How about a nice spray of toilet germs hanging in the air while her baby tries to eat (which takes longer than changing his diaper doesn't it?) And she was probably worried that the judge might think she ducked out if she took too long (he sounds like he's jerk enough to fine her for not being on time)...these are all things to take into account. I think it was pretty logical for her to just feed him there...in the back...while covering herself....and no one was bothered until the judge called her and noticed her, right?
I wonder if a woman judge would have been as unforgiving?
so why did she run out crying? because he calmly told her it was inappropriate?
time and a place, people. don't feed your child in a courtroom.
@QuantumStorm@xanga - I pretty much said all I wanted to say in my last few comments. I really don't feel like continuing this senseless arguement. I stand by everything I said 150%.
@chicbananas@xanga - Actually, from what I read, it was the balif who noticed and wrote a note to the judge, who then called her up to tell her what he did. She said she was being discreet, she said she was covered. I'm glad to know there are places mothers can go, besides a bathroom. That said, I stand by what I said. I see what you're saying and I can respect your opinion, I just disagree.
@Megabyyte@xanga - Good for you. If you feel like saying something that actually defends the mother's position, let me know.
@raspberryjade@xanga - agreed.