The State Duma is preparing a draft on fines for prohibiting breastfeeding in a public place

It is planned to introduce a number of bills to the State Duma aimed at protecting and supporting mothers with children in their first years of life. About it “Izvestia” said Deputy Chairman of the Duma Committee on Family Protection, Issues of Paternity, Maternity and Childhood Tatyana Butskaya. The bills, she said, will also affect bans on breastfeeding in public places, and it is proposed to introduce a fine for this.

As Tatyana Butskaya noted, the development of support measures for nursing mothers has been underway for almost two years. At a meeting of the working group in the State Duma on March 5, it is planned to discuss the development of a federal program to support breastfeeding. The program, in particular, involves the introduction of fines for prohibiting breastfeeding in public places. Ms. Butskaya did not specify the amount of the fine. According to her, the document suggests that breastfeeding should be carried out “in compliance with ethical standards,” i.e. the woman must be covered or be given a separate place to breastfeed.

“Over the past few decades, ideas to support breastfeeding have been actively promoted, but they were, so to speak, of the “European format.” Now we are looking at it with different eyes and will re-evaluate it with our experts,” noted Tatyana Butskaya. She added that the document also involves investing in the development of dairy kitchens, the creation of donor milk banks and the development of standards for lactation consultants.

Victoria Chesnokova, a lawyer in the practice of family law and inheritance planning at BGP Litigation, in a conversation with Izvestia, explained that the proposed norms are already enshrined in the current legislation. According to her, breastfeeding in public is not a violation from a legal point of view, and asking a woman to leave is illegal.