Johnny Rockets Illegally Tries to Force Mother to Breastfeed in Bathroom

What is it about breastfeeding that threatens men and stirs up ludicrous debates about "obscenity"?

First it's Facebook and the banning of breastfeeding photos, which has understandably caused a furious backlash from mothers whose profiles — containing "pornographic" photos of them breastfeeding their children — were deleted.

Then it's the arrest of a woman breastfeeding in Target, despite the store's policy permitting mothers to breastfeed their children. And now it's the decision of a Johnny Rockets' manager to tell a woman to either breastfeed her child on a bench outside or in the bathroom or leave his store.

The outraged mother informed the manager that in Kentucky, as in 44 other U.S states, it is legal to breastfeed in any public or private place. Catch that, Johnny Rockets manager? Any public or private place. But the guy was unfazed and insisted that the mom go to the bathroom to feed her baby.

The incident inspired a boycott of the restaurant and women have protested out front. However, it's maddening to think that even when a woman knows her rights — and is exercising her most fundamental right and responsibility to feed her child — she's still forced to hide in a bathroom to breastfeed.

I'll take this opportunity to encourage all breastfeeding mothers to read up on their rights and the laws in their states, and to refuse to back down if anyone threatens them or tries to force them to leave or to stop breastfeeding their children. You can tell Johnny Rockets to apologize for their actions and guarantee that in the future they will respect the rights of mothers by signing the petition here.

Photo credit: AndrewB94