Posted on 11/15/2006 6:38:55 PM PST by Mr. Brightside
Nursing mom says plane kicked her off
Wed Nov 15, 1:22 PM ET
BURLINGTON, Vt. - A woman who claims she was kicked off an airplane because she was breast-feeding her baby has filed a complaint against two airlines, her attorney said.
Emily Gillette, 27, of Santa Fe, N.M., filed the complaint with the Vermont Human Rights Commission late last week against Delta Air Lines and Freedom Airlines, said her attorney, Elizabeth Boepple. Freedom was operating the Delta flight between Burlington and New York City.
Gillette said she was discreetly breast-feeding her 22-month-old daughter on Oct. 13 as their flight prepared to leave Burlington International Airport. She said she was seated by the window in the next-to-last row, her husband was seated between her and the aisle and no part of her breast was showing.
A flight attendant tried to hand her a blanket and told her to cover up, Gillette said. She declined, telling the flight attendant she had a legal right to breast-feed her baby.
Moments later, a Delta ticket agent approached and said the flight attendant had asked that the family be removed from the flight, Gillette said. She said she didn't want to make a scene and complied.
"It embarrassed me. That was my first reaction, which is a weird reaction for doing something so good for a child," Gillette said Monday.
A Freedom spokesman said Gillette was asked to leave the flight after she declined the blanket.
"A breast-feeding mother is perfectly acceptable on an aircraft, providing she is feeding the child in a discreet way," that doesn't bother others, said Paul Skellon, spokesman for Phoenix-based Freedom. "She was asked to use a blanket just to provide a little more discretion, she was given a blanket, and she refused to use it, and that's all I know."
A complaint against two airlines was filed with the Vermont Human Rights Commission, although Executive Director Robert Appel said he was barred by state law from confirming the complaint. He said state law allows a mother to breast-feed in public.
The Vermont Human Rights Commission investigates complaints and determines whether discrimination may have occurred. The parties to a complaint are given six months to reach a settlement. If none is reached, the commission then decides whether to go to court. A complainant can file a separate suit in state court at any time.
"I suspect the flight attendant was a man but they don't say."
That's assuming? Not likely.
I suspect you were more offended by the last part of my post:
"In my experience only men are offended by a baby breasfeeding. Why? I have no idea."
Feeling guilty?
By six months my children had teeth and were able to eat human food. But, I still breastfed them past the age of two. Well, that is, when I wasn't pregnant with one of their siblings. My youngest is two and still nurses.
Not at all. I just find your assumptions silly and your conclusions dubious.
In other words, you fit right in on FR.
In your mischaracterization you missed the facts.
Breast shame is next to bonnets and burkas. It's only weird, jealous people who can't cope with their own arousal.
People who try to prevent the natural care and nurturing of children are whackos, plain and simple.
And you are posting FR because....?
Maybe he's saying there's good naked and bad naked.
Airline blankets and pillows make me sqeamish, as well.
Just a small point though, the child is nearly two-years-old, not an infant.
No way was I breastfeeding my son at that age. To use or not to use a blanket was not an issue for us. Cheerios and juice sufficed to keep a toddler entertained and fed when travelling.
There once was a dame named Gillette, Who breast fed her babe on plane jet, Told to hide her bare nipple, She hired attorney named Boepple, Just to get he face in every gazette.
I'm very pro-breastfeeding and side with the mother on this , and only make this comment to state that my 13 month old son is anything but picky. Just tonight, he sampled some bear meat, caribou, moose, smoked salmon, deer, and a very small piece of "bon voyage" cake that was purchased to send off a family friend who is going on a surge deployment for the Navy tomorrow. And one of those meats was heavily peppered. Maybe he's just a strange kid.
"Even then, breast milk is the foundation of optimal nutrition. I agree with the World Health Organization in urging mothers to breast feed exclusively for six months, and to continue to breast feed "for up to two years of age or beyond"." (http://www.drgreene.com/21_797.html)
"The American Academy of Pediatrics currently recommends that "Breastfeeding should be continued for at least the first year of life and beyond for as long as mutually desired by mother and child.." * The World Health Organization and UNICEF recommend that babies be breastfed for at least two years."
(http://www.lalecheleague.org/FAQ/advantagetoddler.html)
What was that about normal pediatrician? Most encourage it as long as it is working for both the mother and child. How many conversations have you had with pediatricians about breastfeeding?
Why waste money on formula when everyone knows that breastmilk is far superior. That's why every formula commercial includes the phrase "breastmilk is best for your baby?" I'm not going to waste money, at $25.00 a can (at Walmart no less), on an inferior food source.
And it's illegal to tell me I have to stop breastfeeding or leave.
Force of habit.
Actually no, they encourage the introduction of solid foods at about that age, but if you continue to take vitamins, your child is getting all the nutrition she needs from your breastmilk.
That's legit, I just want to know what makes one bad and what makes one good. I want some insight into the process.
Was the blanket obviously clean, or was it frequently used on the plane? I wouldn't want some filthy public thing that close to my infant.
What facts?
What I think supersedes all of this is the important tradition on planes and boats alike: "captain = God".
His crew are the angels. You obey orders, or else get off the ship.
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