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Breastfeeding moms take on Applebee's
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Breastfeeding supporters will protest Saturday evening at Applebee’s restaurants across the country, including one at Arcadia Crossing Shopping Center in east Phoenix.
The protests come after a long battle over alleged breastfeeding discrimination that originated in June at an Applebee's restaurant in Lexington, Ky.
A mother there said she was harassed by an Applebee’s employee because she breastfed her child while sitting in her booth.
Arizona is no stranger to breastfeeding controversy.
A state law was passed in 2006 after Tempe mother Amy Milliron was told that she could not breastfeed her child at a public swimming pool in Chandler.
Milliron reacted by driving the effort to pass legislation that protects the rights of breastfeeding mothers in Arizona.
"A mother is entitled to breastfeed in any area of a public place or a place of public accommodation where the mother is otherwise lawfully present,” the law states.
Milliron called the situation with Applebee's frustrating.
“We shouldn’t need laws in the first place," she said. "But we have them and people are still being bothered."
She said Applebee's has offered to provide blankets to cover babies during breastfeeding but will not allow mothers to feed their children in the open.
"It’s absurd,” Milliron said.
A manager at the Applebee’s at 2547 N 44th St. was aware of the protest planned for 7 p.m. but declined to comment. Officials at Applebee's corporate headquarters in Overland Park, Kan., could not be reached Friday for comment.
Diane Targovnik, a mother who helped organize the Phoenix protest, said mothers and family members will show up Saturday, along with individuals from the health care industry.
“We will be outside holding up signs,” Targovnik said. “But our main goal is to pass out information and educate people about breastfeeding.”
Milliron, who will attend the protest, said that part of the problem is the advertising of baby formula companies.
“They have a lot more money than breast-feeding moms,” Milliron said. “So it’s easier for them to convince people that formula is just as good as breast milk when it’s not.”
According to the national Conference of State Legislatures, 38 states besides Arizona have laws that specifically allow women to breastfeed in any public or private location.
“This is not just about our rights as mothers,” Targovnik said, “but about our babies’ right to eat.”
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