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Judge Tells Woman to Stop Breast-feeding in a North Carolina Courtroom
New York Magazine ^ | 4/15/2016 | Susan Rinkunas

Posted on 04/15/2016 5:25:44 AM PDT by simpson96

Stephanie Rhodus was in court on Monday to testify in a custody hearing for her 8-year-old son. She was waiting to be called to the stand when her younger son, 8-month-old Archer, wanted to be fed. She was nursing him when judge Peter Knight called her up, and all was okay for about five minutes.

Then Knight can be heard saying this in an audio recording: "Ma’am, you need to cover up. For you not to realize that is absolutely ridiculous. Step outside, and cover up right now. Stand up, and go, now." He went on to say that having a child in the courtroom is allowed but nursing is "absolutely inappropriate." Rhodus apologized and tried to continue. Unsurprisingly, her son was fussy and agitated during the remainder of her testimony.

She told the Washington Post that her son won't take a bottle and he also doesn't like being covered when nursing. But the law in North Carolina says this is all fine: Women can breast-feed in any public or private place they're allowed to be, without covering up.

Rhodus knows this (she breast-fed in the presence of a woman judge last week) but she told ABC News that the judge was "so condescending and so aggressive" that she was too scared to say anything. A legal analyst for ABC pointed out that the judge went too far — he could have simply called a recess.

Rhodus's mother has custody of her older son and Knight ultimately issued six-month protective order that bars Rhodus from seeing him. Rhodus thinks the episode affected both her testimony and the judge's decision. "It caught me completely off-guard. I couldn’t think straight to present my case properly," she told the Post. "It was just — I was in shock."

(Excerpt) Read more at nymag.com ...


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To: jdub

I don’t think she’s smart enough to come up with an idea like that.


41 posted on 04/15/2016 7:33:09 AM PDT by simpson96
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To: simpson96

Attention addict. An 8-month-old is thoroughly predictable in his feeding schedule, so it’s highly unlikely that he had to nurse right then. And he will be fine with the covering up if he has been used to it from the beginning.

Also, the headline is misleading.


42 posted on 04/15/2016 7:35:38 AM PDT by Bigg Red (Keep calm and Pray on.)
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To: paladinan

Lol @ the peeing in public! You’re right.

I’m pregnant and will have my baby two weeks from today (scheduled induction) so soon I’ll be breast feeding. However, I will cover myself if/when I have to feed in public both for my sake, my husband’s sake, and the sake of the general public. Modesty seems lost in our stupid, libtard, progressivist society.

I realize BF’ing is natural, but no one needs to see my boobs. Those are private property.


43 posted on 04/15/2016 7:36:56 AM PDT by surroundedbyblue (Proud to be an Infidel)
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To: hopespringseternal

In modern times,in civilized societies, the norm has been toward modesty.

Defecation is a perfectly normal bodily function, as is lactation, but we would hope that others would not force us to witness said function.


44 posted on 04/15/2016 7:40:09 AM PDT by Bigg Red (Keep calm and Pray on.)
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To: simpson96

Hey maybe, at that point in time when she was in the courtromm, she self identified as a baby bottle. Who are we to judge? /s


45 posted on 04/15/2016 7:40:31 AM PDT by Impala64ssa (You call me an islamophobe like it's a bad thing.)
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To: simpson96

The child should have been fed prior to going into the court room. I’ve never seen a court room that allowed food and eating of anything within it’s walls. Outside in the halls eating is usually alright but, not within the court room itself.


46 posted on 04/15/2016 7:42:13 AM PDT by Texas Tea
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To: paladinan

+1


47 posted on 04/15/2016 7:43:27 AM PDT by Bigg Red (Keep calm and Pray on.)
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To: jdub

Well said! Good point.


48 posted on 04/15/2016 7:45:33 AM PDT by Bigg Red (Keep calm and Pray on.)
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To: simpson96

“No Jugstice, No Peace!”


49 posted on 04/15/2016 7:47:23 AM PDT by glennaro
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Comment #50 Removed by Moderator

To: paladinan
blase about men “whipping it out” to pee in public

As it happens NYC is indeed very Blasio about people peeing or crapping in public.

It's 'privileged' to exhibit self-restraint now, you know. Not to mention personal hygiene.

51 posted on 04/15/2016 7:48:38 AM PDT by Fightin Whitey
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To: simpson96

she has a lawyer


52 posted on 04/15/2016 7:53:36 AM PDT by jdub (A patriot must always be ready to defend his country against his government.)
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To: jdub

Like I said... :-)


53 posted on 04/15/2016 8:14:54 AM PDT by simpson96
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To: surroundedbyblue

Best answer yet! Blessings to you and the soon-to-arrive little one!


54 posted on 04/15/2016 8:25:07 AM PDT by sneakers
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To: Bigg Red

Babies happily defecate in courtrooms as well.


55 posted on 04/15/2016 8:27:40 AM PDT by hopespringseternal
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To: paladinan

How selfish do you have to be to begrudge an infant eating?


56 posted on 04/15/2016 8:29:27 AM PDT by hopespringseternal
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To: BwanaNdege

In many cases the baby doesn’t cooperate. Covers get thrown off. There is no convenient exit. You either listen to the kid scream or feed him. I would rather look in a different direction than inconvenience the kid and my ears.


57 posted on 04/15/2016 8:34:18 AM PDT by hopespringseternal
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To: silverleaf

My wife has with three children. No one ever knew she was nursing.


58 posted on 04/15/2016 8:35:41 AM PDT by yuleeyahoo ( Man does not control his own fate. The women in his life do that for him. - Groucho Marx)
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To: dragonblustar
Stephanie Rhodus was in court on Monday to testify in a custody hearing for her 8-year-old son. She was waiting to be called to the stand when her younger son, 8-month-old Archer, wanted to be fed.

She's in court, can't leave, baby wants to be fed.

Right... and... that explains why she needs to "bare it" instead of being discreet and modest... HOW, again?

[paladinan]
The same argument applies, doesn’t it? “Hey, what’s even remotely sexual about peeing? You have an issue with a bare penis? Get over it, you pervert! It’s natural, and it’s horribly selfish of you to require men to hold their pee until they get to some sort of “interior” urinal!”

[dragonblustar]
That doesn't even compare. All that shows is your immaturity or sexual issues.

Ah, of course... the ever-winning mix of "special pleading fallacy" and ad hominem insults. If you'd like to have a civil discussion about this, fine; if you just want to flame, talk to the wall.

She's in court and has to keep that baby quiet.

Up to a point, yes (though that issue has already been addressed, c.f. babysitter, feeding the baby before going in, etc.).

If the baby was bottle fed, there wouldn't be an issue but because he's breast fed, people act like idiots.

Hey... don't let me interrupt your mature use of insults for those who disagree with you! :)

But seriously... you seem to have missed the main point, in favor of your pet red-herring: I'm not objecting to public breast-feeding. I'm not. Honest. Read that? NOT. N.O.T.

I object to the approach of some women (who apparently have your support, in this matter) who think nothing of "whipping it out" and showing her bare breast for the world to see, with a militant sort of devil-may-care attitude which throws modesty (what is that, again?) to the winds. See the distinction?

59 posted on 04/15/2016 9:36:45 AM PDT by paladinan (Rule #1: There is a God. Rule #2: It isn't you.)
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To: Buckeye McFrog

I doubt it.


60 posted on 04/15/2016 9:38:21 AM PDT by armydawg505
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