Officers arrested the woman, who later pleaded guilty to child neglect and faces up to five years in prison. Now her case has touched off a debate among moms about breast-feeding, alcohol — and privacy.
Since Anvarinia's arrest, blogs have been abuzz with comments questioning whether breast-feeding mothers could risk criminal charges if they drink even modest amounts. Authorities insist police were right to make the arrest, even if the mother had not been breast-feeding, out of concern for the child's welfare. ...
It's unclear how much Anavarina had to drink. Police never conducted a blood-alcohol test. Investigators believed she was drunk, and her arrest on a charge of child abuse and neglect did not require a test. ...
"This case is more than just the breast-feeding. It was the totality of the circumstances," said Grand Forks Police Lt. Rahn Farder. "It is quite unusual for a mother to be breast-feeding her child as we are conducting an investigation, whether she was intoxicated or not."
What a mess. First of all, breastfeeding your kid in front of the police is not yet a crime. Second, while I am skeptical of the healthiness of the habit, all kinds of activities that pose a risk to the kid's well-being are legal - say, smoking - and the police would never even imagine they should lock people up for them. It seems that the woman's job as a mom is somehow open to public scrutiny and disapproval, especially when she is pregnant or breastfeeding. Somehow, the more personal and private the matter for a woman, the more authority male police officers arrogate to themselves to control the woman's behavior.
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