RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) — Richmond International Airport is apologizing after a new mom was told she couldn’t breastfeed her baby in public.
That new mom told WRIC that not only did the police officer try to stop her from breastfeeding, but he also told her that what she was doing could be considered indecent exposure.
“He said I could go to the women’s bathroom that’s right there in that area or I could go back down to a family restroom, and I said, ‘well, I’m in the middle of feeding him, so I’m not going to move,'” the Richmond mom explained.
She says the officer suggested what she was doing could be considered a crime.
“The second that he came off my chest and I showed my nipple, it was indecent exposure, and that that’s not allowed,” she acknowledged.
The Richmond mom knew her rights and refused to give in, even after a supervisor suggested she go somewhere more discreet.
“You have to feed the baby when they’re hungry, and so if that means while we’re waiting for daddy to arrive at the airport, that’s where we end up doing, and so I kind of had the confidence to feed there because I knew it was what I needed to do for my baby,” she explained.
A spokesperson for RIC said the airport regrets what happened. It’s against Virginia law to ask nursing mothers to stop or go somewhere else. The airport released this statement:
Virginia law clearly supports a mother’s right to breastfeed her child in a public venue like Richmond International Airport. Unfortunately, yesterday afternoon, July 12, 2018, a law enforcement officer at the Airport, in response to a patron’s complaint, approached a nursing mother about breastfeeding her child in public.The proper response would have been to advise the complainant of the mother’s right to breastfeed her child in public venues like the Airport, instead of offering alternatives to the nursing mother in an attempt to mitigate the complaint.We apologize to the mother for this unfortunate encounter. Additionally, in further response to this matter, the RIC Chief of Police, in communications with law enforcement personnel, will reaffirm and emphasize a mother’s right to breastfeed her child in public, the Airport’s commitment to the enforcement of this right, and the appropriate response to complaints regarding the exercise of such rights.
“I hope this gives other people the courage to speak out so that we can live in a place that supports our families,” the local mom added.
