(pdxmac)
The AP says that police were called when Target employees tried to throw a couple out of the store because the woman was breastfeeding in the electronics aisle. The husband, a Detroit police officer, says they were told by the security guard that the act was “against the law.”
Obviously, as police officer, he knew that wasn’t true.
The National Conference of State Legislatures says that Michigan is one of the 28 states that exempt breastfeeding from public indecency laws.
Target says they regret the incident, but, “This specific situation escalated to a point where we were concerned for the safety of our guests, so law enforcement was called. We regret the incident in our store and will continue to provide a shopping environment that respects the needs of all guests, including nursing mothers.”
The mom told the local Fox affiliate, “Forcing me out of the store. Two security guards, the manager or team leader, two officers, they just made a spectacle and a scene. I feel like I can’t go to that specific Target anymore.”
The manager of the store told Fox breastfeeding is “not discouraged” in her store. Hmm.
Nursing Mom: Target Called the Cops [MyFoxDetroit]
Breast-feeding mom says Target kicked her out [Detroit Free Press]
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Enter text… Really, the baby was crying soooooo much it couldn’t wait for mom to get to the ladies room? We are raising a nation of pussies if the answer is yes.
I thInk those breast feeding laws are designed to help in a non restroom situation.
Not to have a teet whipped out in the middle of a retail aisle.
And just because her husband is a cop doesn’t mean he knows the laws it just means he can enforce the law and is protected from prosection when acting lawfully.
Have you ever seen a Target ladies room?
Would you REALLY want to eat in it???
Would you eat in the bathroom? I know I sure as hell wouldn’t. That is disgusting. All the fecal spores floating around etc. Seriously, if you wouldn’t eat in the bathroom neither should the baby.
but would you eat at the electronics section?? i wouldnt and no one i know would so why feed a baby there? what is so wrong with a cloth 8in x 8in to cover you and the baby up
Kudos for this lady! I really irritates me that people get upset at breast feeding. What’s obscene is the idea that a hungry child should be forced to have Mom feed them in a bathroom or worse. Would you be upset if you started to have a snack in a store and be told you have to got to the bathroom to eat that?
My wife was feeding one of our kids in Sam’s Club once, and we found a chair out of the main aisle, covered her with a blanket, and fed her. Ironically, those with the most disgusted looks were from women.
It would probably be inappropriate for me to praise a woman for her decision to feed in public (or worse – freaky), so I’ll say it here. You go girl! If your child is hungry, by all means take care of them and ignore everyone else that has a problem with it. They need to get over themselves.
why do people need to do this in public. what target doesnt have serviceable bathrooms?
really i think these women just want to act a fool in public.
Seriously?? You want her to nurse her child while sitting on a filthy toilet? Why don’t you go ahead and take your cup of Starbuck’s and a scone and have your snack in the “serviceable bathroom”?
Exactly. I don’t eat in a restroom, and I don’t expect my children too, either. I don’t LOVE nursing in public, but I do it because, well, I need to leave the house, and my baby needs to eat. But frankly, I’d rather nurse him topless while standing on top of a counter at the Target checkout than feed him in a public restroom. Barf.
you dont have sit on the toilet, again there are options, but some people LOVE the attention and LOVE acting a fool.
if its “legal” they will do it. its not about the baby, if it was you would put the babies needs above the so called deals at target. take care of your baby, there is NOTHING wrong with online shopping if the bathrooms are that offensive to you.
Boobs are for feeding babies! You’re alive because your mamma fed you. Have some respect!!
Oh for crying out loud. If she doesn’t want to go to the bathroom or cafe, why not the baby section of the store? They usually have rocking chairs out, and certainly no one shopping in that section would have any issues with breastfeeding in public.
Why would anyone go to a restroom to feed a baby? Do you often eat your meals in your bathroom?
you could have a baby section with leather seating, ergonomics rocking chairs, snacks for the mother, free soft keep for the baby nursing section and some women would STILL pop one out in the dvd section and complain about how they are treated. this is not about baby, this is about high maintenance mammas
“…police were called because there was concern for the safety of their guests.” Safety?? A mom nursing her infant poses a danger for other customers? I’d love to take my child to my local Target to nurse him just to see what happens but he thrashes around too much at this age and I wouldn’t be able to do it discreetly. I know for a fact, though, that I have nursed my other children while in Target and no one ever said anything; I doubt anyone even noticed.
I am guessing those so against breast feeding would be appalled if a service dog was brought in the store too. Comparing it to no shirts no service is STUPID. I like how everybody says go to the car, but fail to realize it is DETROIT IN NOVEMBER.
If this woman’s breasts were causing the store employees to be worried about their safety, I demand photographic evidence!
If this woman’s breasts were causing the store employees to be worried about their safety, I demand photographic evidence!
Don’t get what the BFD is!
So what if she is in electronics?? Would people throw her out if she whipped out a bottle and fed the baby?
I BF anytime/anywhere I please. I try to be as discreet as I can..even then someone might know or see a little skin(read NOT boob) Definitely no more than anyone would if they saw me in a modest swim suit. And for sure no more than I have to look at on a daily basis..thanks to VS, any fashion/people hunter magazine or most eve tv shows.
GET OVER YOURSELVES..and you nursing mothers that see a problem with it..you should be ashamed of yourselves IMO
Those must have been some ginormous boobs if Target was fearing for the safety of their guests… hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha…. what a bunch of boobs those Target guys were…. Oh yeah folks, tip your servers well, I’ll be here all night…
Seriously, Target – grow a brain OK. Women have been breastfeeding the human race since time immemorial… Just because some marketer invented bottles and formula – which you happen to sell – doesn’t make it a STORE EMERGENCY requiring a team of people to toss out a mother and her hungry infant…
I can tell you this much – I’d SUE their asses, make them pay me, and donate so much money to the Breastfeeding Coalition (La Leche? I think it is) that they’d feel it for 1,000 years…
My wife is still breast feeding and I know for a fact I would stand up against some store idiot telling her she couldn’t feed our son in the store. Yes, we bring a bottle with milk, but sometimes babies need more and they simply CAN’T and DON’T wait for satisfaction. She covers up with a shawl for decency, but it’s either put up with the crying or the feeding, which would you think your patrons prefer?
Don’t take your baby shopping for that long of a time. Ever think of that?
“Madam, the sight of your exposed breast is highly offensive to me. You have exactly 25 minutes to cover yourself.”
As someone who grew up near this Targets location I can say I can understand why the store employees wouldn’t want this going on in their store. Pretty sure she wasn’t hot
/sarcasm
Wow, every time I see a story like this I just don’t understand why people make such a big deal about breastfeeding. I’ve seen women breastfeeding and most of the time it doesn’t even register, as they’re being discrete as hell about it. Why do people get their panties in such a wad over this?
I think we should have a breast feeding sit in at all Local Targets.. If anyone is interested let me know.. You can email me at inkywalnut74@gmail.com We should do it on a Saturday since that is when most people are out shopping. Especially since it is the Holiday season. I would love for this to be a country wide nursing in public day. Lets do this!!!
So what was the safety issue? The mother that was breastfeeding or the unholy flaming pallet of whoop-ass that she was about to unleash?
Maybe the baby was a sloppy eater and it was causing a slipping hazard.
Ah, I love breast-feeding posts here. They always bring out idiots bleeting the same disingenuous bullshit comparisons and arguments over and over again. Like “peeing is natural too”; “why don’t women bring a bottle?”; and the always lovely “why doesn’t she use the bathroom/cafe/etc. instead?”
(And by love, I mean hate. Seriously, can’t any of you come up with something new to complain about when it comes to breastfeeding or are you just going to whale on that poor dead horse until it becomes jerky?)
Maybe if those things weren’t true, and it wasn’t gross and un-hygenic then we’d stop complaining. And just because you cynically outline our arguments doesn’t make them wrong. Babies need their diapers changed too for health reasons, but you don’t do it right there in the electronics department.
You do bring up a good point. If a woman can breast feed in the electronics isle, a man should be able to freely pee in a bottle if he is playing one of the game demos and doesn’t want to risk losing the console to another customer by going to the bathroom.
For the several dozen people who wrote this, it’s spelled “discreet”, not “discrete”. Look up the difference.
And someone mentioned how it might not be wise to bring a newborn baby out Christmas shopping. Well, babies continue to nurse into their second or third year, so this may not have been a newborn (and that could be one reason the security guard freaked out – it’s bad enough that women nurse infants, but try nursing a toddler – people just can’t wrap their little heads around that concept).
For those worried (or excited) about seeing “a boob”, I breastfed my two kids for over two years each and no one ever saw anything except the back of their head and my shirt. If they were hungry I fed them wherever we happened to be. Why should I have to go out to the car just to appease uptight or squeamish people? Nursing hurts no one and if you don’t like seeing it, turn your head or walk away. It’s that simple.
And why would anyone want to feed their baby in a cubicle in a disgusting public restroom? Most restrooms don’t come with a comfy couch to sit on. People poop in there and change their sanitary pads! Those rooms smell awful. Would you eat in there? I sure wouldn’t.
These stores should take a cue from Nordstrom’s; have a ladies lounge with comfy couches and a pleasant overall atmosphere where moms can feel comfortable nursing their babies. I don’t want to see your boobs, but I also don’t think that mothers should have to feed their kids in a dirty bathroom stall. Giving them somewhere nice to nurse will prevent them from doing it in your aisles, and might also keep them in the store longer if they don’t feel like they have to rush out in order to feed the kid.
Target’s assets protection team members and team leaders are low paid, and poorly trained. Yeah they learn how to catch shoplifters and most stores have a camera system that can read the date off of a dime on the ground of the parking lot, but they have NO understanding of law. IF they did understand the law, do you think they would be working a crappy job at Target?
They are not police officers ( and many police do not understand much of the law anyway)
you know target has perfectly serviceable bathrooms and if you dont like the bathrooms, target online is a great website and often the prices are cheaper than in store purchases. so me thinkgs is all about the attention and not at all about the baby.
This whole fiasco stems from ignorance! Total ignorance of the rent-a-cop and then of course you don’t want to piss off a mother and her cub. Don’t you dare tell a mother when and where she can feed her offspring. I’m sure that’s when it got ugly, not to mention the cop v. rent-a-cop.
Seriously though, i have never in my life met a mother who didn’t discreetly nurse. I mean unless you stare long and hard, you won’t see anything.
Just wait till the other breastfeeding mom’s get together for a ‘feed’ at this Target. You’ll have a store full of them and ain’t nothing Target can do about it!
Total ignorance!
Hmm…let’s see…a bare breast, or a screaming baby. Which is more preferable. Hmmmm…I just can’t decide.
The concept of a woman’s breast being inappropriate is inappropriate. Grow up, people. It’s a friggin’ boob, and boobs are awesome. They feed babies. Babies who would be screaming if they weren’t eating. Figure it out!