Humiliated. That's how Jennifer Howard felt when her doctor demanded she cover herself up when she started to breastfeed her crying 3-month-old daughter, Evelyn.
Sign now to demand this doctor stop treating patients.
Howard was befuddled at what he was asking.
"And he said yes, to cover yourself while you're breastfeeding and I said, 'Well, no doctor has ever asked me to do that before,'" she tells ABC11. "And he said, 'Well, it's a rule we have to prevent lawsuits from something inappropriate."
But the clinic had no such policy. And the state would call his request illegal.
In Oregon, no one can force someone nursing a child in a public place to cover up.
Howard was mortified, but her request to change doctors was denied.
The Oregon mother was visiting the Salem Clinic for postpartum depression. Imagine how you would feel if you visited a professional for help with trauma, and you were only met with shame and judgment.
If this doctor can't handle breastfeeding—a natural part of raising an infant—he shouldn't be treating new mothers, let alone other patients.
People deserve to feel comfortable and safe when they access health care. Please sign the petition to encourage the clinic to fire this doctor, or at least impose on him a strong professional penalty.
