Badass Congresswoman Wants Lactation Rooms in Federal Buildings

Oh, how I love D.C.’s feisty congressional representative, Eleanor Holmes Norton, who captured my heart as a frequent guest on the late, great Colbert Report. This week, she’s sponsored a bill to open up lactation spaces in all federal buildings, everywhere.

The bipartisan bill, called the Fairness for Breastfeeding Mothers Act, would require buildings that are either federally owned or leased to provide designated private and hygienic spaces — other than a bathroom — for nursing mothers.

“Considering millions of people visit federal sites across the country, and particularly here in the nation’s capital, visiting nursing mothers should also have access to dedicated lactation spaces they need to safely pump breast milk for their newborns,” said Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton, D-D.C., in a recent statement.

This makes me think about the time I brought my breast pump to the Women’s March in D.C. and had to find a hotel basement in which to pump. Lactation spaces that aren’t also unhygienic bathrooms are a really smart idea, and wouldn’t cost much—just a little creative use of space!

My bill requiring federal buildings to provide lactation spaces to visiting nursing mothers will be considered on the House floor tomorrow. https://t.co/L0ZiijiSyv

— Eleanor #DCStatehood Holmes Norton (@EleanorNorton) March 6, 2017

The bill needs a senator to sponsor it–paging Patty Murray, Kamala Harris, Diane Feinstein or Kirsten Gillibrand?

Sarah M. Seltzer

Sarah Seltzer, former editor for Kveller, is a writer and editor in New York City. She is a journalist covering culture, activism and gender, most recently as Deputy Editor at culture website Flavorwire.com. Her print and online work has appeared in publications including Poets & Writers, The Forward, Lilith, The Washington Post, Ms. Magazine, The New York Times, Salon, The Nation, The Wall Street Journal, Jezebel, The Hairpin, Refinery29, The Toast, Rolling Stone, and many more. She is a graduate of Harvard University, where she edited The Crimson’s weekend magazine, as well as the MFA in writing program at Vermont College of Fine Arts. Her first baby, Mikey, is growing up way too fast and she can objectively report that he is very cute. You can follow her at @sarahmseltzer and reach her at sarah@kveller.com.