The Senate unanimously approved a reform Tuesday which classifies restrictions on breastfeeding in public as discriminatory.
Breastfeeding in public spaces, according to the motion, has been stigmatized throughout history to the detriment of women, violating the right of infants to sufficient nutrition, the newspaper Reforma reported.
The reform will add a new modification to article 9 of the Federal Law to Prevent and Eliminate Discrimination.
Citizens Movement Senator Verónica Delgadillo stated the case for the law: “Why is an act as generous and as natural as breastfeeding a baby an act subject … to discrimination and humiliation?” she asked.
“At some point we have all witnessed a woman deciding to breastfeed her baby in public and the act becoming an object of criticism, shouting and humiliation,” she added.
The practice is considered a human right by the United Nations (UN), for both mothers and infants, due to its health benefits and positive effect on children’s physical development.
The president of the Senate Human Rights Commission, National Action Party Senator Kenia López Rabadán, said the state is obliged to promote and protect breastfeeding as a right.
She argued that it isn’t common enough in Mexico: only 28.6% of children under six months old are nourished exclusively through breastfeeding, she said, while the UN’s goal is for that to be the case for 50% of children.
With reports from Reforma
