Nursing parents would gain right to pump in public under proposal to expand breastfeeding law

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HARRISBURG — State lawmakers dedicated to preventing maternal deaths among women of color want to build on recent legislative victories by expanding health data collection and adding new pumping protections to a breastfeeding statute.

A handful of state House Democrats formed the Black Maternal Health Caucus last session to respond to persistent racial disparities in morbidity and mortality. The group introduced a slate of bills, known as the “Momnibus,” with proposals including sending newborn kits to parents, requiring implicit bias training, and mandating insurance coverage for blood pressure monitors.

The group scored two victories last session when Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro signed a bill creating a statewide public awareness campaign about postpartum depression and another one that enacted into statute a Pennsylvania Department of Human Services policy that gives doulas a path to seek Medicaid reimbursement.

In January, the caucus laid out its legislative agenda for the current session. Here’s a look at two newly introduced bills from its members:

Title: Maternal Care Access Act

Main sponsor: State Rep. Gina Curry (D., Delaware)

Summary: This bill would create a program inside the state health department that would identify counties that could “benefit from increased access to skilled and licensed maternal health care providers and resources to improve maternal health outcomes,” according to bill language.

The program would consider demographic data — such as race, income, and access to health insurance — and other factors such as a county’s ratio of people of childbearing age to the number of full-time maternity health care providers, travel time to the nearest provider, and more.

Curry, the bill’s prime sponsor, said it would help health agencies “assess and understand” the causes of maternal health problems, such as preterm births and infant mortality.

She emphasized the importance of looking at how factors such as where people live, their ability to earn an income and access to transportation shape their health.

“I believe that this bill will be instrumental in collecting data … but [also] finding real results,” Curry told Spotlight PA.

The bill provides general guidelines for designating “maternal care access zones,” but doesn’t specify how often the health department would need to collect data or if it needs to publicize its findings. It also doesn’t prescribe the resources that would go to at-risk areas.

Melissa Patti, director of maternal and infant health initiatives at the March of Dimes, a nonprofit that advocates for mothers and children, said that having up-to-date information would allow providers, advocates, and lawmakers to “have a clear picture of what is going on.”

The March of Dimes assigned Pennsylvania a “C” grade in 2024 based on the percentage of preterm births experienced the previous year. The report also found Black people are disproportionately affected.

“We really want to better understand what [are] the barriers and the challenges related to care,” Patti said. “[Then] we can be very strategic about directing resources, creating programming, and additional pieces of legislation to specifically address those concerns.”

Title: Adding Pumping Protections to the Freedom to Breastfeed Act

Main sponsors: State Reps. Jennifer O’Mara (D., Delaware) and La’Tasha Mayes (D., Allegheny)

Summary: This would add the right to pump breast milk to the state’s law guaranteeing the right to breastfeed.

The state enacted a law in 2007 that ensured that parents can nurse their children in public and private places that they otherwise have the right to be, and cannot be charged for indecent exposure, lewdness, or obscenity.

Lawmakers want to add the right to pump, or express breastmilk and store it, in public as well.

Mayes, a prime sponsor, said the bill would ensure that pumping has the same level of protection as breastfeeding. She added that pumping can be an essential alternative for parents who aren’t able to bring their children to the workplace.

“We want to make sure that the same protection that is extended to feeding your baby with your breast is extended to pumping as well,” Mayes said.

Patti of the March of Dimes said ensuring the right to pump can have health benefits for new parents, as it reduces stress regarding whether they can take time out of the workday.

She called parental stress a public health concern, echoing former U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy.

“For folks who work jobs in agriculture, in nursing, in [teaching], those folks have difficult schedules, and it can sometimes be difficult to find time to pump,” Patti said. “[The bill] is an added layer of protection so that those folks who want to breastfeed can do that and work their full-time job.”

The bill would also give parents whose rights have been denied or restricted recourse, allowing them to sue within two years of a violation. Parents would be able to recoup up to $1,000 of statutory damages per violation, recover reasonable attorney fees and litigation costs, and “any other equitable relief” that the court deems appropriate.

Mayes said that the fine “lends weight to the message of the bill,” adding that there are “repercussions for all the laws that we make.”

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