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Do breastfeeding moms deserve a special break from jury duty?
A bill now making its way through the Florida House of Representatives would allow women who are breastfeeding to be excused from serving on a jury. If it passes the House and the Senate and gets
signed into law, Florida would be the 13th state to have such an
exemption.
Now, I am all for making things a little easier for breastfeeding Mommas. When you get a ticket for trying to be safe while breastfeeding, that seems a bit outrageous to me.
But this attempt by Rep. Franklin Sands, D-Plantation, to give breastfeeding moms a break from jury duty seems like the House minority leader is (ahem) milking the whole motherhood-and-apple-pie thing. There already is a law on the books that exempts from jury service any parents who aren't employed full time but have custody of young children.
As new mom Rep. Anitere Flores, R-Miami, said during a committee vote on the bill, sure seems like there are more important issues that the Legislature should be discussing.
What if, instead of an excuse from serving, breastfeeding Mommas were given some accommodation? For instance, how about setting aside a quiet room in the courthouse where new moms can go pump during breaks? Trust me, just being able to do that would be a big help for most moms.
But don't exclude us from the jury pool. After all, a Momma is the ideal juror: She hears everything, has eyes in the back of her head, and always knows what the right punishment should be.
-- Sherry Robinson
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Sharon Kennedy Wynne has sunscreen in her blood. She may have been born in Buffalo but she got here as fast as she could, in time for kindergarten. She grew up in St. Petersburg, graduated from the University of Florida journalism school, and even got married at Sunken Gardens. She's one of the few adults we know who actually loves taking her kids to the beach. She has two sons and with 10 years of parenting under her belt, she's starting to feel a little less out of her league. She comes from a large family and loves to debate, so brace yourself when the hot topics come up.
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Freelance writer Courtney Cairns Pastor wasn’t so sure about having kids and how she would balance child-rearing with her journalism career. It turned out that her journalism training went to good use. As the mom to a funny, active toddler, she learned to handle him like she did her sources. Never ask yes or no questions (the answer will always be no), get him to be specific (are you crying because you’re wet or your tooth hurts?) and be prepared for anything because no two days are the same. When she’s not playing trucks, Courtney crams for her book club, trains for races and occasionally bursts into showtunes. E-mail her at 
Suzannah DiMarzio has it bad for the Mouse. Although she grew up outside of Boston, she took her degree in tourism management down to Orlando just to work at Disney and the travel industry. Of course, when she married her high school sweetheart, the reception was at Disney. She’s now a seasoned stay-at-home mom to two tweens and a toddler – and yes, that is as crazy as it sounds. Suzannah has her own blog, Comment Policy
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