United Liberty
Bloomberg off the deep end
Mon, 07/30/2012 - 12:10pm | posted by Tom Knighton
As if his last comments weren’t bad enough, New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg has apparently gone off the deep end completely. Despite Bloomberg being pro-choice, and the motto for pro-choice tends to be some variation of “my body, my choice”, he has apparently decided that government has at least some say in what a woman does with her body.
Mayor Bloomberg is pushing hospitals to hide their baby formula behind locked doors so more new mothers will breast-feed.
Starting Sept. 3, the city will keep tabs on the number of bottles that participating hospitals stock and use — the most restrictive pro-breast-milk program in the nation.
Under the city Health Department’s voluntary Latch On NYC initiative, 27 of the city’s 40 hospitals have also agreed to give up swag bags sporting formula-company logos, toss out formula-branded tchotchkes like lanyards and mugs, and document a medical reason for every bottle that a newborn receives.
While breast-feeding activists applaud the move, bottle-feeding moms are bristling at the latest lactation lecture.
Maybe it’s just me, but this really makes me bristle. You see, I’m a father of two. My wife was unable to breast feed our first child because her body just didn’t make enough milk. With our second, we didn’t want to take the chance. It was a choice, and we made it.
However, Bloomberg doesn’t trust parents to make decisions. Which is funny since he trusts these same people to decide whether they want to carry a baby to full-term. After all, abortion has much deeper ramifications than breast milk or formula. For the record, I happen to be pro-choice as well, but I’m also consistent.
To be fair, Bloomberg’s efforts don’t actually outlaw the use of formula. However, I see it as akin to measures passed in the recent past designed to pressure women to not get abortions. Pro-choice groups decried these measures, but thus far they have been completely silent.
It’s a woman’s body, her choice…unless that choice isn’t what Bloomberg wants.
Why do the people of NYC put up with this?
The idea wasn’t bad at all, in fact, health experts really suggest breast feeding, as it is good to both the mother and the baby. However, the choice should be made rather than by the parents. - James Stuckey
Post new comment