Making airports nursing friendly: Senate Bill 0344 —“Lactation Accommodation in Airports Act”

One of the greatest struggles for breastfeeding mothers is to find accommodations to express milk and feed our children in public places. Illinois Senate Bill SB0344 “Lactation Accommodation in Airports” is making its way through the Illinois General Assembly and will positively impact the lives of nursing mothers and their babies. If passed by the Illinois House and signed by the Governor, the Act will require Illinois airports that conduct commercial operations of more than 1,000,000 enplanements a year to update airport facilities on or before January 1, 2017, to provide a clean and private place for nursing mothers to express breast milk. The Act also provides that an airport that conducts commercial operations with fewer than 1,000,000 enplanements a year shall comply with the provisions of the Act upon new terminal construction or the replacement, expansion or renovation of an existing terminal. This Act will not change the current Illinois law which allows mothers to breastfeed their babies in public.

As a nursing mother, I have personally experienced the challenges faced by airport travelers searching for a clean and private place to pump breast milk. In February 2015, I traveled from Chicago O’Hare International airport to Houston, Texas, to attend the American Bar Association Mid-Year Meeting and serve as an ISBA delegate to the ABA House of Delegates. I was excited about the opportunity, yet nervous because it was my first overnight trip away from my 10-week-old son. Due to flight delays, I did not anticipate having significant trouble locating a clean and private place to pump breast milk at O’Hare airport that was not a “family bathroom.” It became my mission to ensure that other nursing mothers do not have to hunt for a private space, rush through nursing/pumping, or explain to airport employees why they need a private space accommodation in public airports. Midway Airport recently opened a Mother’s Room on Concourse C, and that is a step in the right direction. O’Hare Travelers Aid in Terminal 2 currently allows nursing mothers to utilize their office space upon request.

When I returned from my trip, I contacted my state senator Kimberly Lightford and asked her to introduce the Lactation Accommodation in Airports Act which is similar to recent legislation passed in California. On April 6, 2015, Senator Lightford introduced Senate Bill 0344 and it was voted on and passed by the Illinois Senate on April 22, 2015. On May 13, 2015, the Illinois House Human Services Committee unanimously voted “do pass,” and the bill will be favorably reported to the Illinois House of Representatives for a full House vote. As of May 19, 2015, the bill passed both Houses unanimously!

Senate sponsors include Sen. Kimberly A. Lightford, Sen. Jacqueline Y. Collins , and Sen. Toi W. Hutchinson. Chief House sponsors are Reps. Camille Y. Lilly, Emanuel Chris Welch, Elgie R. Sims, Jr., Jehan A. Gordon-Booth, Robyn Gabel, Litesa E. Wallace, Carol Ammons and Kelly M. Cassidy.

Hopefully nursing mothers will not have to wait until 2017 before Illinois airports will provide a room or other location at each airport terminal behind the airport security screening area for members of the public to express breast milk in private that: (1) includes, at a minimum, a chair and an electrical outlet; and (2) is located outside of the confines of a public restroom. Airports across the country offer amenities such as electronic device charging stations and yoga rooms for travelers, we can do better for nursing mothers and their babies.

For more information and updates:

Illinois General Assembly- <www.ilga.gov> (search SB0344)

Fly and Feed Facebook page: <http://www.facebook.com/2015flyandfeed>

Lactation Accommodation in Airports Petition: <https://www.change.org/p/mayor-rahm-emanuel-and-the-city-of-chicago-department-of-aviation-establish-lactation-rooms-in-illinois-airports/u/10745657>.

Airports in the United States: Are they Really Breast Feeding Friendly? <http://online.liebertpub.com/doi/pdf/10.1089/bfm.2014.0112>.

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Emily N. Masalski is Counsel at Rooney Rippie & Ratnaswamy LLP (R3) and a member of the firm’s environmental and natural resources, health and safety, and litigation practice groups. She can be reached at emily.masalski@r3law.com.