Mother Asked To Leave Houston's Restaurant For Breastfeeding In Public
Mother upset after being kicked out of store for breast-feeding her baby
BOCA RATON, Fla. - A new mom is at the center of controversy after she was asked to leave a Houston's restaurant for breast-feeding her infant.
Simone Bertucci, the mother of a 5-month-old baby boy, Marcello, is speaking up.
"I didn't know what my rights were," Bertucci said.
She was breast-feeding her infant son during a family dinner at Houston's when management asked her to leave.
"I wanted to cry," Bertucci said. "I wanted to crawl under the table like I did something wrong, but I didn't do anything wrong."
Bertucci said she finished feeding her son in her car and came back inside the restaurant.
"I'm humiliated," she said. "I really am. I am in shock."
After consulting a family attorney, Bertucci said she found out that the Houston's restaurant violated her rights.
"I want all women to be aware of it," she said. "We do have rights and there is nothing wrong with nursing your baby in public."
According to a Florida law, women have an unconditional right to breast-feed anywhere, public or private, covered or uncovered.
"This is the most natural thing we could do for our babies and I just wanted to be heard that we have nothing to hide," Bertucci said. "We really don't."
While the law states that women have an unconditional right to breast-feed anywhere, personal opinions are still vary about public breast-feeding.
"I would say if it was covered, I think it would be okay," a woman said.
"I think it's a natural thing," a passerby said.
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