Dozens of mothers showed up at a Minnesota pool over the weekend to stage a “nurse-in” protest after the police were called on women breastfeeding their children.
Stephanie Buchanan and Mary Davis were at the aquatic center in Mora, Minn., last week when Buchanan’s 3-month-old son needed to be fed, CBS News reported Monday.
“A patron came up, a lady at the pool, and told me that I needed to cover up,” Buchanan said.
{mosads}Davis then started to also breastfeed her child as a show of support.
The employee told the women they needed to either cover up or move indoors to the locker room.
Buchanan and Davis decided to leave the pool instead but were approached by a police officer first, the outlet reported.
“I said ‘Minnesota state law protects me to feed my baby anywhere that I need to,'” Buchanan said. “He said, ‘I understand, and I let the establishment know, but they reserve the right to ask you to leave.’ “
Minnesota law reportedly allows for a mother to breastfeed in “any location, public or private, where the mother and child are otherwise authorized to be.”
Buchanan and Davis said the experience was humiliating, but news of the incident quickly circulated online.
Dozens of mothers showed up outside of the pool, about 60 miles north of Minneapolis, and breast-fed their children outside.
“To get such an overwhelming community and state response from not just moms, but dads and other family members have been amazing,” Buchanan said.
The aquatic center and Mora city official issued an apology.
“While we always have supported nursing mothers, the situation inside of the kiddie pool made many patrons uncomfortable,” the statement said.
The statement added that neither woman was asked to leave the pool.
“It fell short of our expectations,” Davis said in reaction. “I think it fell short.”
CBS News reported that the two women are planning to file a discrimination lawsuit.