Breastfeeding & Jury Duty
As many of you well know, it can be undue hardship, to separate from your baby, especially if you do not have care for them already set up. Breastfeeding and Jury Duty comes up every so often and can send a mom into a frenzy of worry. So arm yourself now, should this happen to you in the future!
If you get called for jury duty and you are the primary care giver for a young child, and/or are breastfeeding that child who is under the age of 2, in many states, there is a law to protect you and exempt you from jury duty. Your best bet is to write a letter as soon as you receive the appointment, and share your concerns, and the laws pertaining to you that excuse you or defer you.
For you moms who work outside of the home, and have care already set up for you child...this still applies to YOU! And it does need to be made known to the courts that you TOO are working and breastfeeding, pumping and expressing your milk for your baby. They need to understand that this means you would need to have a 15 minute break every 3 hours to pump and express your milk for your baby, that you are providing breastmilk for your baby; for whom you are separated from.
They also sometimes need to made aware that if you do not pump, (yes an officer of the court suggested she not pump, why did she need to?!!!) you will risk your own health, suffer from uncomfortable engorgment, possible breast infection, plugged ducts, a breast abcess, and risks lowering your milk supply from this action, thus risking your own babies health and well being, since his precious food will be compromised. This fact alone, excuses many working and breastfeeding moms from jury duty.
This is an excerpt from La Leche League International website ( original article found here )
Idaho, Kansas, Oregon and Nebraska provide that jury duty will be postponed until the mother is done nursing the child.
Oklahoma law states that a mother breastfeeding a "baby" shall be excused upon request.
Illinois and Virginia law provides that a mother nursing her "child" shall be excused up request.
Iowa excuses breastfeeding mothers who are not employed outside the home.
Nebraska requires a doctor's certification.
Mississippi provides that a breastfeeding mother may be excused as a juror.
Kentucky not only provides an exemption for breastfeeding mothers, but also those who are expressing breast milk.
California law provides that the jury duty summons must include a reference to the court rules providing an exemption for breastfeeding mothers for up to year.
The Family Friendly Jury Duty website is a further resource for jury duty information.
You'll see here, that Missouri has a pending law specifically excusing a breastfeeding woman, but it is still not official. Yet, they do have a law 494.430, that excuses "any primary caregiver (mother, father, home-schooler) that is taking care of children, elderly or the handicapped." See below...
Missouri House Bill 494
1. Upon timely application to the court, the following persons shall be excused from service as a petit or grand juror:
(3) Any person upon whom service as a juror would in the judgment of the court impose an undue or extreme physical or financial hardship.
4. ...undue or extreme physical or financial hardship is limited to circumstances in which an individual would:
(1) Be required to abandon a person under his or her personal care or supervision due to the impossibility of obtaining an appropriate substitute caregiver during the period of participation in the jury pool or on the jury...
And Federal Missouri states the following...
(3) “Persons having active care and custody of a child or children under 10 years of age whose health and/or safety would be jeopardized by their absence for jury service; or a person who is essential to the care of an aged or infirm person.”
Kansas House bill 2284 states the following...
“The following persons shall be excused from jury service:
...(e) a mother breastfeeding her child. Jury service shall be postponed until such mother is no longer breastfeeding the child.”
Kansas House Bill 2789 states the following...
“The following persons shall be excused from jury service:…(e) a parent who is not employed full-time and is responsible for the daily care of a child under six years or age…”
Federal Kansas...
(3) “Persons having active care and custody of a child or children under 10 years of age whose health and/or safety would be jeopardized by their absence for jury service; or a person who is essential to the care of an aged or infirm person.”
Every drop counts!
Summer J Friedmann, IBCLC
6/24/2012