When my son or daughter is hungry I what him or her to be able to eat. My wife breast feed and she was able to do it very discreetly. It was with a towel that she was able to do this.

Yes, mothers should with no questions asked.

It's actually pretty impossible to expose a breast when the child is nursing, and I haven't met a mom yet who enjoys flashing a crowd of people. Nursing is done fairly discretely by most.
Why are we hung up on breastfeeding here in the US? It's how we're designed to feed our babies. The more it becomes acceptable in public (like it is in most of the world), the more it will hopefully be normalized.
Whether you grew or not, there's a recent Mass law that protects breastfeeding mothers in public spaces, and prohibits discrimination against us nursing mothers who are simply providing for our children.

It is sad that this is even a matter to debate. Babies need to eat. If you don't want to see it ~ don't watch! With that being said, I do agree that using good judgement and not flashing the public with bare breasts is common courtesy. It is not difficult to breastfeed and be discreet at the same time.

If a baby needs to be fed, a mother should not be made feel this is not an option wherever she is. However, there are ways to cover up to make it less offensive to others.

I wouldn't want my kids viewing porno while eating out or doing anything else in public.

So ridiculous that this is even a topic! It's the most natural and healthy way to feed a child. If a child can't eat in public then no one else should be able to either.

I agree with all so far and would like to hear from the No voters as to why it is objectionable. I breast fed my children until the age of 12 months or so when it was unpopular to do so (35 years ago). With little effort in pulbic descretely, and people did not even know I was nursing. Had they known and complained I knew I would be asked to leave.

A woman breast feeding shows far less breast then some of the outfits woman wear. I don't know what the big deal is all about. It's a natural event.

Breastfeeding, if done in public should be done tastefully. As a mother who breastfed my children in public, I always tried to do it discretely and tastefully with a cloth so my breast wasn't exposed. I would never expose my bare breast in public without feeding an infant therefore I felt it should never be exposed during feedings in public.

I agree with Jennifer. It's sad that this is even a matter to debate. Mothers should be allowed to feed their children discretely anywhere.

It's legal for women to go topless in New Hampshire and 13 other states. http://gotopless.org/topless-laws. The patrons in the restaurant may have been offended, but they had no legal right to stop Healy.

I understand we are in America, but they do this all over the world and only here in this country people are shocked to see a mother breastfeeding their child. So in response to the person that thinks this is porn...the ignorant are not the people that voted "yes"

I think only certain women should be allowed.

I think they should be able to, as long as their breast is covered up with a blanket or something.

Patch picks the most controversial topics they can think of....then in 2 or 3 days, wonder why they have to shut down the comments section.

Polling whether a baby should eat when they are hungry WHEREVER they may be is silly. Choosing to breastfeed is not as "natural" as many believe. It is a job, a committment and the shaking of strangers' heads when we decide to nourish a hungry baby due to their discomfort is unfair. In fact, MA has a law that specifically allows women to breastfeed in any public or private location and exempt breastfeeding from public indecency laws. I agree with Linda in some of the outfits people wear. Breastfeeding a baby typically reveals less breast than most bathing suits and is in NO WAY PORN.

Fine if it's if done discreetly. Better to feed the kid than let them scream!

The topic is breastfeeding. Thank you for keeping it focused on that.

I think it's okay when they are discreet about it, use a blanket or go somewhere that isn't hugely populated, but doing it in the middle of supermarkets or in the food court of a mall or at the table of a restaurant is just rude, who cares if it's natural, being "natural" doesn't make it okay to do things that make people around you uncomfortable, your baby can wait the 2 minutes for you to go somewhere private that isn't in front of a hundred people.

Posts that do not relate to the topic will be deleted.

It's ok, but it all depends on where you are. In the middle of a restaurant is inappropriate.

I have to agree with some of the posters - yes, it's okay, but not in the middle of a restaurant, the food court, etc. There are pumps and disposable bottles expressly (no pun intended) for that purpose. That said, I'm glad to see that it's a little more widely accepted now - when I breastfed my first child 27 years ago, public breastfeeding, discreet or not, just didn't happen.

Of course they should be allowed.The biggest risk of exposing a breast is usually just prior to the baby latching on, but even that is minimized by a lightweight blanket covering the proceedings.

A male, Michael Gelbwasser, is the author of this poll. I wonder if he would tell us why he chose to use the word 'allowed' in the title?

A simple towel or other cover is all that stands between acceptance of public breast feeding or being against it. Its not the open exposed breast feeding causing the issue, its probably our learned approach of "no public nudity" that is causing objecting.

THats so easy to resolve via a simple discrete cover of some type.

Hi Maria,

Please stay on topic. Name calling gets us off-topic.

MG

First off, as a 35 year old married man with 3 kids, I have no problem with it. HOWEVER, I do appreciate a little discretion. Like many others have mentioned a towel or wrap of some sort is nice. If I saw a woman breast feeding without a towel or wrap, I wouldn't complain or give a nastly look either though. Just a personnel preference.

Secondly, and more importantly, PATCH, what's going on here with the deleting of comments due to a different subject? Why does it matter? You have a good thing going here with people expressing their thoughts in a non confrontational manner. Lately though, I've seen way too much concern from you (Patch) about comments. It seems odd that you introduce extremely controversial topics and then get upset when people get fired up? Don't start acting like China please. Let people say what they want and THEY can be responsible for they're own words. It's not your responsibility to "sensor" the web.

I had no idea there were such polarized positions on this topic in an area with a pretty high level of education. Seems we have found a serious gap in our educational system. The statements equating porn and 'using the bathroom' with breastfeeding are fear based. These fears arise from lack of education. There is nothing dirty or obscene about breastfeeding. It is possible the occasional slip happens -but to outlaw women from feeding their babies in public is simply ignorant. Thousands of women breastfeed their babies in restaurants and in public everyday and you would never know it because 99% of the time you see nothing. We have not even touched on the fact that most places have no facility designated to nursing mothers even if they wanted to step out!

...and yes, I meant censor, not sensor. I work with sensors all day, so cut some slack folks! Insert smiley face here

Hi Postman, I deleted two comments on this thread. One called someone a name. Another ignored my request to keep comments focused on the topic of breast-feeding by introducing, for the second time, a completely unrelated subject. We ask that people comment on the articles.

Odds are that there have been plenty of times where women have breastfed in the same area as me and I didn't even notice. The way I see it is that an crying child is far more distracting and annoying during a meal than a mother quietly feeding a baby.

Myd - I'm embarrassed to say I hadn't thought of that. You are so right - a crying child is exponentially more distracting than a mother quietly feeding a baby.

It has been years since I breast fed my baby but most of the time people didn't even realize I was doing it. It is hard to predict when an infant is going to be hungry and easy to feed your baby discretely. Trust me - I didn't want anyone seeing my breasts! I'd rather see a women feeding her child than a man in a speedo!

I think women can breastfeed anywhere, anytime. Much better than a screaming baby. I talk to my friends out at a restaurant, their baby fussing and bothering everyone, 2 min later you have a happy baby and happy everyone else, most of whom didn't even notice the breastfeeding. I try to understand many sides of issues but find it difficult to understand what can be offensive about breastfeeding. Or why we are so censoring of nudity (nudity, NOT pornography, I can just see the comments rolling in!) in general, but thats another topic!

To tell a woman that she MUST use a breast pump in order to bottle feed her child in public is very hard for me to grasp. I cannot understand why feeding a child is rude. I think spitting on the sidewalk or playing your awful music on your phone on the T is rude - breastfeeding, why? To ask the woman to go somewhere private? Do you know how often babies eat?? Do you know how long they often breastfeed for?

Kira - I know! I did it!

My niece feeds her baby with a cover over her in the restaurant.
Am I comfortable with it no, but it's her kid.
jim@ccfiile.com

Breast feeding in public makes me uncomfortable. I agree that you need to provide nourishment to your children at any given moment, but I do not want to view it. What is the big deal with going outside or to a bathroom? It makes others feel uncomfortable, doesn't that matter?

Jim, what makes you uncomfortable about this?

I guess I'm from the old school.....pretty prudish for guy...
People yanking out part of their body, doesn't matter what the cause is, makes me uncomfortable.
jim@ccfiile.com

Man, it shows how messed up as a society we are that this is even an issue.

At the risk of TMI, I like a breast as much as the next dude. But I have no idea how they have become so overly sexualized that we somehow equate using them for their intended purpose is shameful, inappropriate, and that society needs to be shielded from them?

Frankly, I want my daughter to know that using her body appropriately is nothing to be ashamed of. I want her to see that it is safe, and normal, and not immoral to breastfeed.

Ben....it's not that we're messed up...the situation has swung way far to the left.
So anything and everything is now out in the open. I wasn't brought up that way.
There are things that should be kept private.
The kids today are way to informed on sexuality and they are paying the price for it.
They can see it all, do it all, but they are not really fulfilled because it's not meant to be that way. To some people there are some "sacred cows" and that keeps life interesting and not boring. When it is all out in front of you then what is there to hope for. A hope that is seen is no hope. When life keeps you guessing you want to continue on.
Jim@ccfiile.com

Jim, for thousands and thousands of years, and currently through most of the world, women breastfeed their children entirely openly.

The repression of that, for the brief blip it has been repressed, mostly in the past century, is part of what has led to the bizarre sexualization of the body.

Regardless, I am not sure how a mother feeding her child is exposing other children to sexuality. It's exposing them to a mother, feeding her child.

I would argue that it is substantially more harmful to children to convey the message that their body is so *wrong* that to use it to feed a baby is something that needs to be hidden.

I have seen women who are making such a statement with breastfeeding that they are totally exposed and I feel that is unnecessary. I breast fed three children in public and in private and never exposed myself unnecessarily. I once had an elderly man sitting next to me and he had no idea that I was nursing...

Mr. Gelbwasser, perhaps my earlier comment was too indirect. My question was not related to verb tense as you suggested in your response. My question, stated bluntly is this: who is it that is going to allow, or not allow, a woman to do that which is natural? Is it the predominantly male controlled government or law enforcement? You could have posed the question without using the word 'allowed' and not implied that someone (the male part of society) was giving or withholding permission. To steal a line from another era, if men could nurse a child, public breastfeeding would be a constitutional right.

I {heart} Ben Jackson!!!!!

Ben rocks.

To all the people whining that something so natural makes them uncomfortable: Don't look at it. It's really not hard to do at all. If you're at a restaurant with somebody, you should be focusing on A.) The person/people you're with, and B.) Your food. Stop concerning yourself with what other people have the natural right to do, whether or not they do it discreetly. Telling a mom to go to the bathroom every time their child has to feed? Come on.

Glad to see the majority of people here see the topic as a non issue.

This is not a big deal for me. All moms out there be proud of what you can accomplish that us men cannot. You are able to bring life into this messed up world of ours, so go ahead and keep on breastfeeding your kids where ever you are whenever!
PS. Mom thank you for being you and making me who I am today!! God Bless.

A Woman Breast Feeding her Baby in open view is the most beautiful and wholesome
Motherhood and Apple Pie Statement of what makes America especially North America a Great Country !Its a Mother's Right to be doing it at Liberty,there is nothing in-sincere vulgar or obscene about it !Only the Prudes and Unloving Cynics criticize such a wholesome thing ! Gerald Heng Sr. Metrowest Boston, MA. [The Cradle and Motherhood of Liberty City]

I believe most woman do try to be discreet when breastfeeding in public. I am pleased to see that over the years it has become more acceptable. When my children were young it was not something you could do in public, yet I managed to meet their nutritional needs, although often at the expense of my own convenience. However, I do feel some woman take it too far and do want to make breastfeeding a statement by being less discreet. All you need is a towel or small blanket to cover any potential exposure of the breast and wear clothing that allows you to easily and discreetly allow access to the breast. Also if your child may need tobenursed while you are out request a table that is not in the middle of the restaurant. I would love to see more restaurants and public places provide a clean comfortable area where mothers could breastfeed but I understand that costs money and these are difficult economic times.

Babs - you echoed my thoughts perfectly. Wish I had said that!

Ben Jackson, you are amazing! My husband feels the same way but would have trouble communicating it as you do. I am a proud nursing mother of a 3 year old daughter and soon to be tandem nursing mama of a newborn. My daughter is healthy, attached, smart, indendent and so much more. Never have I given it a second thought as to where or when I will feed my child. I am happy for this discussion as I hope those opposed will start to question their own thinking. Public breastfeeding in the US is not going away.

I am from the town where this happened, and this story does not give a great account of what actually happened. The mother was sitting at a table that was in view of everyone else- men women and children of all ages. She did not discreetly feed her fussy child- she laid the baby across the table and held her breast over the child, allowing everyone in the restaurant to see. As a current breastfeeding mother myself, this is not acceptable in my eyes. I have nursed my now 13 month old in this very restaurant from the time he was 2 weeks, untilost recently 2 weeks ago. I have never had anyone complain about the manner in which I did it, because unlike this mother, I respect the feelings and the rights of the other patrons around me.

Oh for God's sake. It's a breast. It's beautiful and functional, and if you don't like it, don't look. And if you don't want people to look at it, don't expose it in a public place. What was the story here??? The controversy? Get over it.

Yes, a woman should be allowed to breastfeed, but for chrissake, be discreet about it!!! To me, it's not even an issue that the mother wanted to breastfeed her child, and if she felt "shamed" about being asked to cover up (which ISN'T against the law, by the way), then that's simply the outcome of her bad decision to refrain from using a burp cloth or something similar. If you're at the beach? No problem. A friggin restaurant? Show some taste and and respect for the other patrons.

Again, I'm fine with public breastfeeding, just show some taste and class.

Its called class. A woman doesnt expose herself in public and my mother, grandmother and wife would never dream of doing such a thing. Its has nothing to with being allowed, its just common decency.

If I unzip and pee in public, I would be arrested. Of course I would never do that because I was raised better than that and would be more discreet.

Class and dignity are slowly disappearing in our society.

I wasn't going to comment because the comments are mostly tasteful, even the less enlightened ones, but the comment from NH mom needs an answer. I am Jane Healey's sister. The drunken wolf pack that hangs out at this local restaurant has labeled my sister as some kind of "floosy breastfeeder." They have called her "dirty bags", "feeder", "immoral", the list goes on. The restaurant owner is even quoted in a local newspaper saying that she planned the whole thing because national breastfeeding week was coming up.
My sister was wearing a tanktop and a nursing bra. She has large breasts, making it difficult to keep them hidden during latch on.....which is why there is a law to protect her in the state of NH. There was not enough room between the booth and the table for the baby to fit so she was left with laying the baby partially on the table. The baby on the table was not the move of an exhibitionist, it was the move of a flipping fantastic mother (and RN) who was doing what she had to do to comfort and nourish her child.
To be continued because I can't fit it all in one comment!!

I would like to say at this point that anyone that thinks a ten month old is going to tolerate a blanket over her head on a hot summer day, (or any other day for that matter), is either ignorant to the fact or choosing to ignore the fact that the baby is going to fight it. She doesn't have to stifle her baby to please others.
The Concord Monitor has put out an article titled, "State Law is on the side of nursing mom." This law was put in place so women don't have to put up with this condenscending behavior. The attitude "she chose to breastfeed in public so she gets what she gets" is the reason that the law was put in place. My sister works full time in a local hospital and part time in a local nursing home as a registered nurse. During the protest their were drunken hecklers from the restaurant porch yelling about how she was on welfare and she was doing all of this to catch a check. The best one of the day was from the waitress that confronted her in the restaurant that day, saying "Hi Jane, HI Jane" over and over again until my sister finally acknowledged her with a guarded, "Hi Jody." The waitress's response? A sarcastic, catty "Do you need a napkin?" followed by a peal of laughter, shared by another bartender from the same establishment. This comment was the last thing that the waitress said to Jane, before Jane walked out of the restaurant that day.
Cont.

These are not the actions of reasonable people. People that are capable of this behavior are not fooling anybody into believing that the situation was approached with any tact.
The emotional toll this has taken on my sister has been devastating to watch. All she was doing was nursing her child and now she is in national headlines. She's trending on yahoo, for crying out loud!! She never thought that standing up for her rights would turn into something so big. Turns out many women feel strongly about their right to breastfeed. ;) She is eight years younger than me and really, she is my first baby. I love her so much.
To NH mom, I understand why you have taken this stance. This restaurant is the only consistent restaurant in town that has a bar and you don't have anywhere else to hang out. You have hopped on the bandwagon and demonized my sister so you can justify your behavior.....as Madeleine Albright, former U.S. Secretary of State said, "There is a special place in hell for women who don't help other women."

And thats all I got to say about that ;)

You seem a bit bias Dorothy, no? Granted I wasn't there, but how hot was it in the air conditioned restaurant that it wouldn't allow a cover of some sort. Like I said before, I wouldn't say anything anyway, but I find it hard to believe there wasn't a reasonable option to laying a child on the table ansd dropping your breast into him/her. It sounds like she's a good Mom and I've missed where anyone said otherwise.

A blanket or cover isnt needed. Have the class to go somewhere in private before exposing yourself. Don't use your baby as an excuse to flaunt societies moral codes. I would get up and leave if this were happening in a restaurant where I was eating. I'm sure the restaurant has a room that can provide privacy.

You wouldnt change your babies diaper on the table where you are eating, you would go to the bathroom that has a changing table. Maybe establishments need to add a chair to their changing stations. Of course then there would be another excuse why the mother needs to do this in public.

Ray - again, I say what is FORCING you to look? And for every person who believes that a baby should be breastfed in a public bathroom, I dare you to take a nice juicy cheeseburger and some fries into a public bathroom where people have been peeing and pooping all day - likely with not a whole lot of cleanup - and sit and enjoy your meal. Go ahead........we'll wait.

The uses of private parts is irrelevant, its about common decency. I am not whipping my parts out in public, please be decent enough to afford me the same courtesy. Like I said before, if you can leave the table or whatever to change your babies diaper, yu can do the same to breastfeed.The breakdown of moral fiber in America is very disturbing. CLASS, CLASS, CLASS.

Ray, you are not thinking about Brenda's comment. A diaper with body waste is NOT equatable to breast feeding. While it takes 5 minutes to change a diaper (like going to the bathroom) feeding takes much longer, and asking a woman to do that in a bathroom is ridiculous. There is nothing dirty, innapropriate, shameful, or rude about breastfeeding. If you dont like it, dont look - no noise, smell, dirt, germs to bother you, just change your chair or gaze, easy.

Dorothea, Thank you for the additional details. I am having a difficult time trying to visualize how the feeding was accomplished, but kudos to your sister for being creative. I can see how being in a booth would limit the amount of room and positioning of the child. I just don't get the laying her on the table unless the child was laying on her side and facing the mom. Anyway that is not the point. I am sorry your sister was shown so much disrespect and harassment. My comment regarding the towel or small blanket wasn't to cover the baby it was to cover any exposure of the breast. Again back in my day public breast feeding was unheard of. And using the bathroom, sitting on a toilet to feed your baby is disgusting. Not only that if there are only 1 or 2 stalls then no one else can use the bathroom and breast feeding is not a 5 min process. My babies would also want to suckle long after the milk was gone. I am so pleased that woman have fought to have this fundamental right to provide nutrition for their children the way nature intended. There were times when I would be in public and not have a place to breastfeed and would bring a bottle. Not only did the baby resist the bottle but I would become engorged (due to skipping the breastfeeding) and have to suffer in silence and would be fearful that I would be embarrassed by leak through the nursing pads. It is so much better for the baby and mom to have public breastfeeding but I still think moms should be discreet.

If diners at a restaurant are offended by a mother breast feeding her baby may I suggest they excuse themselves from the table and take their meal and finish it in the bathroom.

Someday people will be talking about breastfeeding in public the way we talk about slavery now....boy were people messed up in the head back then. Until then, if you don't like, LEAVE!! And please, please, keep your penis in your pants ;)

Postman....They always have to link it to some atrocity.
Gotta keep the hate going. Of course no tells you who ran the slave trade.....
Another topic for another day.
Jim@ccfiile.com

Please don't act like you don't see my point. Very childish. Slavery was discrimination at its ugliest....harassing a nursing mother is still discrimination. Obviously we can all agree that its not as extreme as slavery but to act as though there is no correlation is juvenile. My last thought, if you had been reading the comments above, was in relation to comments above from males suggesting ideas like, "If I can't unzip and pee in public." why should she be able to breastfeed. Well because thats disgusting, breastfeeding is not. Comparing the excretion of bodily waste to breastfeeding really goes a long way to describing the mind set of the ignorance surrounding this subject. I am happy to say that the protest was a huge lsuccess and my hope is that it will dispel the weird stigma surrounding one of the most beautiful jobs we have as human beings.

People should be free to disagree on this site without resorting to name-calling. Keep the comments civil.

And please stay on topic.

In all that we do, some people will be less tasteful than others in their words and actions. Breastfeeding can be done discretely and when its not, simply look the other way.

I hear what you're saying Kira but I don't agree. I was raised in a family that a woman would not do this. Regardless of why she is exposing herself, dignity and class would make her never consider the option of publicly exposing herself. Being a mother doesnt mean you have to stop being a lady.

I know they make breat pumps and mothers use them everyday. If you are going to be in public with your baby, you know when your childs feeding schedule is. Bring a bottle. There is no need to whip your private parts out in public for ANY reason. Call me old fashioned but its how I feel.

To what purpose was this blog posted- it's about as tasteless as the one on the African American Olympics winner and her hair style- and it points to the idiotic babble that passes for news today- this topic is a personal matter and discretion should always rule depending on what situation a woman is in. Many of the remarks and the fact that this was even a story are insulting and silly at the same time.. very disappointed in the Patch and the columnist.......

At the risk of once again sounding like an un-informed amateur...Is this as much of an issue in other countries? Or is this a USA related issue only?

Children need to be fed. and how a mother decides to do it is her business.

Excellent point, Ed. Others have described this 'poll' as silly.
In another active comment thread in "My skin is pretty thick", David Nola questions the relationship between hits per page and Patch revenue. He says, it is like the Kardashians on the E Channel appealing to "the lowest common denominator that is best served here" (on Patch). Michael Gelbwasser, the Patch editor in Westboro, created this poll and has garned well over 100 comments.

Ed, the hairstyle thing was extremely strange and, I agree not discussion worthy. To be honest, I don't even know where that came from. I only heartd it hear on the Patch. But, this is a much more legit debate.

Please stay on topic. This topic is about the question in the poll, not Patch revenue.

Yet Ed and Linda, u r both talking about this.

Yes Ray--- I'm commenting because I think the editors of the Patch need some feedback and for no other reason- to be blunt this is trash journalism.

It is trash, Ed. Just not sure it's journalism.

I would disagree. I think the hair piece was a waste of energy, to put it nicely. I think this is a valid voicing of different opinions and shades of those opinions.

I disagree as well. Most papers or newsites have health, society, or opinion pieces like this. Time Magazine not too long ago did a piece on when its appropriate to stop breastfeeding. The NY Times covered the question about military mothers in uniform who are breastfeeding. Its a topic that our society in general has for whatever reason decided to make an issue out of.

'discretion always rules' and it applies to this as well....the Time magazine piece was garbage as well sensationalism in order to sell sinking magazines- this would not be an issue in Europe

Women should be allowed to breastfeed wherever and whenever the need arises. But, we also need to be sensitive to those around us that are not comfortable with it and do it discreetly.

Having breastfed three children, I would like to point out that the individuals who don't have experience doing so should consider that "pumps" and "bottles" as a solution may not work in practice. I honestly don't know how a nursing mother gets ahead of the curve in order to supply a bottle, especially in the early days and months when a supply is being established. I never managed it, but some do. Another thing that should be understood by those who haven't any experience: demand for milk increases unexpectedly when a child is going through a growth spurt. Unlike parents who can just open another can of formula, the nursing mother needs to nurse in order for her body to make more milk. All that said, there does come a time when nursing demands either occur on a schedule (and can be planned around) or a baby is old enough to distract or hold off until it's more convenient.

Having a husband and being aware of my attractions, I can definitely say that breasts are not solely for nursing, unlike one poster's claim above. However, as adults, we can certainly hold that more than one thing is true without our heads exploding. So we can distinguish the sexual from the nutritional.

Given how much skin is bared in much of fashion today, it seems rather cowardly to humiliate a nursing mother, even if she had managed to expose her entire breast, on purpose or not, especially given how important breastmilk is in terms of nutrition and immunity and nursing for bonding and nurture.

@LeAnn - Since Ray Fellows and I seem to be the only posters suggesting pumps and bottles, and we can reasonably assume that Ray has never had occasion to use a pump, I guess I'll take this one. I too nursed all three of my children, albeit the last one was 20 years ago now. I went back to work after each one of my children was born, and since I did not want them to have formula, I pumped and froze or refrigerated the milk.

I am in no way saying that public breastfeeding should be outlawed, but there really does have to be a middle ground - a little respect for the mothers, and a little respect for the folks who are uncomfortable. Calling them (us) uneducated and ignorant (that's not directed at you) adds absolutely nothing to the discussion.

Kim...That's the way it used to be.....I guess things have changed, they don't have to answer to anyone. This about me generation feels it's all about them.
Jim@ccfiile.com

Exactly Kim. I have the civil right to pee anywhere I want but the common decency not to do it in front of others. And before the onslaught of "its not the same thong" comments come flooding in, it is the same thing. Just because something can be justified and is legal, doesnt make it the right thing to do.

Let me make it easier for everyone. The only person that should see my wife's breasts is me! And the woman I am married to should feel the same way too.

I think it's silly, the incident happened in New Hampshire not in Mass where it's protected. The topic has been well debated through the Country. I thought the "Patch" deals with local issues? Ok if it happened in Milford, we could comment about how wrong the staff were!

Some of the other attempts at getting some rise out of the readers such as "what is that smell in downtown Milford" was extremely disappointing and just plain ridiculous!

What is going on here?

Ray, you do not have the right to pee anywhere. While breastfeeding anywhere is legal, public urination is not. Sorry, just not the same...

As to your second comment, it is easy to undermine and I think you are going about it the wrong way. What if it is a single mother feeding her child? Under your stream of though, then she can "show her breasts" to whomever she would like?

When I stayed home with our breast fed infants and had to use the frozen stash from the freezer it would take at least 5 minutes to prepare. In the mean time, I had a little baby screaming his lungs out because he was hungry. I have been to a restraurant with a screaming baby and I would do just about anything to quiet them and as fast as I can. Plus, If you thaw this precious liquid and do not use it, you have to toss it.

It sounds like most of us agree! No one has the right to pee on a baby in public. NEXT!!!

Shame.

And I almost forgot to name my personal Person of the Day: David Nolta's Person of the Day is ... Brenda Crashaw. You go girl!

Wow. I can't believe he thinks he has "the civil right to pee anywhere." Do that and I think he could find himself on the Commonwealth's Sex Offender List, lose his job if he works with kids and have an annual photo day with the local police.
I can't believe he thinks that.

Peeing is not sexual for most people. It is a perfectly normal and necessary human function, and most people prefer to do it in private. Whereas no such privacy has ever been considered necessary for feeding or eating. Full stop.

My daughter breastfeeds her little one. She does it discreetly and makes no big thing about it. We've been to restaurants outside, inside. I am really proud of her for the fact that the baby becomes part of our activities. She puts the baby on her chest in one of those front carriers and we go off anywhere.
No Big deal here.

Joe Rizoli

When did the people of New Hampshire become so conservative? What happened to "Live Free or Die?" Seriously people. If you don't like being around it, look away or leave.

I am not asking people to change their minds. But they will change their behavior. The law protects a woman from having to deal with a confrontation while nursing her child. If you harass a nursing mother, there will be an answer.....if I have anything to say about it. Only cowards harass women and children. End. Of. Story. ;)

there are a lot of people here who seem to be turned on enough by a breastfeeding woman to not be able to tear their eyes away

Dorothy - do you realize that the tone you just took is incredibly divisive? I hope that's not what you intended, because it does absolutely nothing to bring the two sides closer together. Is it more important to be "right"? Or is it more important to create harmony and acceptance? I will never understand that thinking. Never. Ever.

From Mr. Nolta's comment at 12:27 pm Tues:
"It's not about "modesty"--it's about a man's version of what modesty should be for a woman. So it's really about pressure and control."
This is the point I was making when I asked why the word 'allowed' was used in the title of this 'poll'. Who is doing the 'allowing'? It's a male version of what women 'should' do. It is about pressure and control.
Again, if men could nurse a child, public breast feeding would be a constitutional right.