Breastfeeding Moms Stage "Nurse-In" Protests at Target Stores
A Texas mom who complained that employees at a Target store humiliated her for breastfeeding her infant prompted a nationwide "nurse-in" demonstration on Wednesday.
35-year-old Michelle Hickman says she was nursing her baby last month at a Target store in Houston when employees asked her to move to the fitting room.
"I was sitting down in the store in a remote area," she told CNN. "Not a single person came by that was a customer and I was completely covered with a large blanket. So I don't see how they find it that offensive."
When Hickman pointed out she had the right to nurse her baby in public (Texas is one of several states that have passed laws shielding nursing moms from legal liability), workers responded by advising her to turn the other way, barricading herself from public view. She said that one employee even hinted that she could be culpable under indecent exposure laws.
The incident has sparked quite a response. The Target Nurse-In group on Facebook has more than 7,200 members and new moms showed up at Target branches around the country to show their solidarity and assert their legal right to nurse their children in public.
"Let's show them just how many mamas they've offended." says the "About" section on the Facebook page. "We have the right to shop and meet our babies' needs while doing so. Public humiliation for doing so will not be tolerated."
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