Change Erie, Pennsylvania's Public Indecency Exception to Include Breastfeeding Relationships that Extend Beyond Two Years of Age

Breastfeeding a baby is an important and basic act of nurturing that must be protected in the interests of maternal and child health and family values.

As such, the Lake Erie Breastfeeding Coalition would like to change the wording in the Erie City Ordinance Committing Public Indecency Exceptions, 711.01.b2, that states "any individual exposing a breast in the process of breastfeeding an infant under two years of age" to better reflect the wording of Pennsylvania law and the Freedom to Breastfeed Act which states "A mother shall be permitted to breastfeed her child in any location, public or private, where the mother and child are otherwise authorized to be present, irrespective of whether or not the mother’s breast is covered during or incidental to the breastfeeding."

The new proposed ordinance would change the wording from "an infant under two years of age" and replacing it with the word "child" and would state:

"any individual exposing a breast in the process of breastfeeding a child"