Link to Missouri Statute
RSMo. § 494.430.1(2) provides breastfeeding mothers with an
excuse from jury duty.[i] The law was passed by the Missouri House of Representatives
and the Senate and approved by Governor Nixon and delivered to the Secretary of
State April 3, 2014.
I.
Legal
Background
Before
the law passed, a Missouri court held Laura Trickle, a Lee’s Summit mother,
in
contempt when she asked to be excused from jury duty so she could breastfeed
her son.[ii] More and more women are choosing to
breastfeed their children for the health benefits it gives them and the child as
well as for financial reasons (formula can cost over $1,500 a year).[iii]
Representative Rory Ellinger, one of Missouri’s most liberal
representatives, introduced the bill January 13, 2014.[iv] The bill had tremendous support and passed
unanimously in the House of Representatives (150-0) and Senate (31-0).[v] It was called to vote in the Senate
immediately after it cleared public hearing.[vi] The bill was moved quickly because
Representative Ellinger was battling an aggressive form of liver cancer.[vii] His political views did not always lead to
bipartisan support, but his peers respected him highly and worked hard to pass
the bill quickly so he could be present when it was signed into law.[viii]
Currently,
16 other states and Puerto Rico have similar laws, exempting breastfeeding
mothers from jury duty (California, Connecticut, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas,
Kentucky, Michigan, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Oregon, South
Dakota, and Virginia).[ix]
II.
Recent
Development
RSMo. § 494.430 provides a list of people that are excused from
jury duty (e.g., licensed health care
providers who when the absence of the provider would be a detriment to
patients).[x] Now RSMo. § 494.430.1(2) also provides an
exemption for nursing mothers.[xi] The text reads: “[a]ny nursing mother, upon
her request, and with a completed written statement from her physician to the
court certifying she is a nursing mother.”[xii]
To this date, the addition to the statute has not yielded any controversy or
court decisions.
III.
Discussion
Allowing
breastfeeding as an excuse to jury duty is a positive addition to Missouri
law. A possible criticism of the text is
its requirement that the mother present a written physician statement
certifying she is breastfeeding.
Understandably, the courts do not want women fabricating excuses to get
out of jury duty, so some type of verification is reasonable. But it might be more convenient for the nursing
mother to present a copy of the child’s birth certificate than try to arrange a
meeting with her physician to obtain written certification. Overall, RSMo. §
494.430.1(2) is a good change to the law; it is wonderful to see the
legislature showing such support for the needs of Missouri mothers.
- Liz Lafoe
[i] RSMo. §
494.430.1(2) (2014).
[ii] Diane Reese, Breastfeeding bill excuses moms from jury duty, honors ailing Missouri
legislator, The Washington Post, (April 4,
2014), http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/she-the-people/wp/2014/04/04/breastfeeding-bill-excuses-moms-from-jury-duty-honors-ailing-missouri-legislator/.
[iii] Id.
[iv] Id.
[v] Id.
[vi] Id.
[vii] Id.
[viii] Id.
[ix] National Conference of State
Legislatures (NCSL), Breastfeeding State
Laws (March 2, 2015),
http://www.ncsl.org/research/health/breastfeeding-state-laws.aspx.
[x] RSMo. §
494.430.1(2) (2014).
[xi] Id.
[xii] Id.
