John Boyle

jboyle@citizen-times.com

A mom who was booted from a Henderson County courtroom for breastfeeding her baby hopes the incident can spawn better public awareness and more acceptance of what she says was simply a natural, law-abiding act.

"I was really shocked, since the issue was breastfeeding," said Stephanie Rhodus, a Forest City resident who had to appear in Henderson County juvenile and domestic court Monday morning in front of Judge Peter Knight. "I just stopped breastfeeding. He didn’t have anything to say about my baby crying the rest of the time I was in there, and he had nothing to say about my child being there. He didn’t mind my child being there; it was just that I was breastfeeding."

In a recording of the hearing, Knight sternly addressed Rhodus when she began breastfeeding 8-month-old Archer. Rhodus said she never covers the baby with a blanket when she breast feeds, as he does not tolerate having his face covered.

That was not acceptable to Judge Knight.

"Ma’am, you need to cover up — for you not to realize that is absolutely ridiculous," Knight said about five minutes into the court proceeding. "Step outside and cover up right now. Stand up and go, now."

As the baby continued to squall, the judge further admonished Rhodus.

"I’m fine with having a child (in the courtroom) if you don’t have other arrangements made; that’s certainly going to happen," Knight said. "But to nurse the child in the courtroom is just absolutely inappropriate. Now step outside and button up, or whatever you need to do to button up. Are you going to be able to stay buttoned up?"

North Carolina law allows women to breastfeed in public. The statute, which covers indecent exposure, states, "Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a woman may breast feed in any public or private location where she is otherwise authorized to be, irrespective of whether the nipple of the mother's breast is uncovered during or incidental to the breast feeding."

As the judge allows babies and mothers in the courtroom, Rhodus said she had the right to feed her child there. Judges do have the ability to regulate decorum and appearance in their courtrooms, but that does not supersede state law.

The issue remains thorny, though.

"I understand a judge has more control over the courtroom setting than a manager would over a restaurant," said Valerie Vanderlip, local leader of the La Leche League of Buncombe County, a breastfeeding advocacy group. "One problem with the state law as it stands is that it has no enforcement provision."

Knight declined to comment for this article.

Vanderlip said she did not want to question the legality of the judge's actions, as she is not a lawyer. On a personal level, as a mother who breastfed, not as the La Leche League leader, Vanderlip said the judge's actions have negative implications on at least two levels.

"On a personal level, I think the child’s rights were negatively affected by that judges’s choice," Vanderlip said. "I think that's something that is rarely thought of, especially when you think of what the reaction was for that baby."

Such incidents and the resulting media coverage can also affect young women and girls and their perception of breastfeeding.

"When young women, even fifth-grade girls, hear stories like this in the news, that could affect their decision whether to breast feed their baby, and breast feeding is the most important choice you can make," Vanderlip said. "As far as nutrition for a newborn, it is the preferred feeding method."

Rhodus was in court regarding a custody matter for her oldest child, an 8-year-old, who is in the custody of Rhodus' mother. Rhodus also has a 4-year-old.

Rhodus said she has appeared in court before and breastfed, including last week when she appeared before a female judge who had no problem with her feeding her child. She also regularly breastfeeds elsewhere in public, essentially whenever Archer is hungry.

"I know as a person who breastfeeds, I get looks and comments all the time from people who have no right to say that to me," Rhodus said. "I’m doing something very natural. It’s not sexual."

She said she would also like to sit down with the judge and discuss the issue, as "I don't believe he's a bad person." Rhodus said she was not breastfeeding in court for attention or empathy; rather she was just answering her child's biological need.

The judge ruled in favor of Rhodus' mother in the hearing.

Since the Monday incident, Rhodus said she's been overwhelmed with support and said her story on Facebook got more than 500 shares. Rhodus hopes that translates into better education for the general public and less intolerance of breastfeeding moms.

"There’s people who say breastfeeding is fine; just cover the baby or feed him in the bathroom — be a lady," Rhodus said. "To me, I am being a lady in the utmost form of being a woman. This is what a woman's body is physiologically designed to do."