Jeff Merkley
Blog Post List
March 23, 2011
Two weeks ago, the House of Representatives voted to go backwards by supporting repeal of the health reform bill that President Obama signed into law nearly a year ago. The new health reform law bars insurance companies from denying coverage to those with pre-existing conditions, or dropping people from coverage if they get sick. I worked to include a breastfeeding provision in the bill that provides new moms with a private space and flexible unpaid break times at work to pump healthy breast milk for their babies. It’s important for members of Congress to know how the bill is benefitting...
MomsRising
Together
May 27, 2010
Greetings! The last time I was here blogging at MomsRising I was pushing for a nationwide breastfeeding law to give nursing moms reasonable break time and privacy at work to pump breast milk. I am proud to say that nursing moms now have new breastfeeding protections in place to make life easier for them once they return to work. I want to thank you for your strong advocacy and take a quick moment and give you an update on what this new law means for nursing moms across the country. The breastfeeding provision went into effect on March 23, 2010, the day President Obama signed the Patient...
MomsRising
Together
September 9, 2009
Right now in America, working mothers are being discriminated against solely because they breastfeed their children. Last week the Ohio Supreme Court threw logic out the window when it ruled that a woman was rightfully fired for taking breaks at work to pump breast milk. Apparently it would have been acceptable for Lanisa Allen to take a break to use the bathroom as long as she didn’t pump breast milk in the process. The Court argued that Totes/Isotoner had the right to fire Allen because she made the choice to breastfeed her child, which apparently does not qualify as a condition related to...
MomsRising
Together