Breast incident exposes Frontier

New Mexico law protects women’s rights to breast-feed in public, but a UNM student and mother said a security guard and employees at the Frontier Restaurant violated that statute.

Student Micayla Duran and her partner Parker Jennings were waiting for dinner at the restaurant while Duran breast-fed her 5-month-old son Oct. 23. A security guard approached the couple and asked Duran to cover herself, but Duran refused. The guard returned with two Frontier employees who said other Frontier patrons complained.

“By now people were staring, and we felt so insulted that we decided to get our money back and leave,” Jennings said.
Frontier management declined to comment, but issued a statement to the Albuquerque Journal that ran on Thursday.

“We want to apologize to Ms. Duran for asking her to cover herself,” the statement said. “The security guard and our employees were in error.”
As the couple left, the security guard told the couple it was indecent exposure, and he could have called the police, Duran said.
Gilbert Herrera, vice president of United Security, which employs the security guard, said he was aware of the incident.
“Neither me nor my employee is going to have any comment,” he said.

Jennings and Duran consulted a lawyer and learned that it was well within Duran’s rights to breast-feed in public, Duran said.
In fact, according to the New Mexico Breastfeeding Task Force, a state law passed in 1999 allows mothers to breast-feed their children in any location, public or private. The task force works toward “increasing the frequency and duration of breastfeeding in the state,” according to its website.

UNM physician Emilie Sebesta said she was outraged when she heard about the incident. Sebesta, the pediatric director of the newborn nursery, said she still breast-feeds her youngest child.

“It’s just sad,” she said. “Breast-feeding is the most normal thing in the world, and there is nothing indecent about it.”
Sebesta, a member of the task force, said the organization works to create laws and gather data regarding breast-feeding benefits in an effort to educate the public. She also said she tries to educate mothers about the law and their rights.

“I think there are a lot of myths and misconceptions regarding breast-feeding, and there are a lot of things we’re battling regarding educating people about breast-feeding,” Sebesta said. She said breast-feeding has numerous health benefits. It can reduce babies’ chances of developing allergies and cancer, and can reduce mothers’ chances of developing diabetes and breast cancer, she said.

“I look at this incident as an opportunity to continue to educate people,” Sebesta said. “This is what your breasts are for, and we’re certainly not trying to expose ourselves.”

Frontier managers also said they plan to review the law in order to have a better understanding of a mother’s right to breast-feed, the statement said.

Duran said she does not plan to take legal action against the restaurant and just wants to educate mothers about their rights.
“I think it’s crazy that, in this day and age, people are getting upset about breast-feeding,” she said. “We just want people to know the law and their rights.”