Fri Nov 17, 6:25 PM ET



BURLINGTON, Vt. - A commuter airline has disciplined a flight attendant who ordered a passenger off a plane for refusing to cover herself with a blanket while breast-feeding her toddler, the airline said Friday.

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Freedom Airlines spokesman Paul Skellon did not specify the discipline in an e-mail announcing the action against the employee who had Emily Gillette, of Santa Fe, N.M., removed from the plane Oct. 13 at Burlington International Airport.

Gillette, 27, said she was breast-feeding her 22-month-old daughter in a window seat in the next-to-last row, with no part of her breast showing and her husband between her and the aisle.

The flight attendant tried to hand her a blanket and told her to cover up, Gillette said. She declined, telling the flight attendant she had a legal right to nurse her daughter. Breast-feeding is protected under state law.

The case received broad news coverage this week, days after Gillette filed a complaint with the Vermont Human Rights Commission. On Wednesday, about 30 parents and their children protested the airline's treatment of Gillette by staging a "nurse-in" at the Burlington airport.

Skellon said that after the flight attendant ordered Gillette off the plane, the captain of the Delta Air Lines flight being operated by Freedom apologized and asked her family to reboard, but they refused.

Gillette, however, said the airline never offered her a chance to get back on board the New York-bound plane. "I would have jumped at the opportunity," she said.

Delta paid for a hotel room and rebooked the family on a different airline the next day.

:yeehaw :thumbsup

Ok the "nurse in" was a little far fetched in my opinion
Glad she got something out of it though
See and there was more to the story now it is just to see who is telling the full truth or if they are all giving "parts" of the story

I don't see any more to the story than there was before actually :dunno. Even if the pilot did ask them to re-board she was still ordered off the flight because of one flight attendant having issues. Any way you slice it the flight attendant was wrong.

i agree !!!!


go momma !!

right but in the original she didn't mention that she was offered to reboard just proves that people are out to give their side of the story only

nurse-in are just a re-enforcment of what our rights are. i would have refused to board the place also. I would not want to that see women again!

:cp good for her!! i would've partcipated in the nurse-in and there would be no way in hell i'd that i'd re-board that flight

on the news the other day they showed her with her lawyer and they mentioned that the airline had claimed that the captain had asked them to come back on, but in actuality it was just to cover their asses cuz they did no such thing and the copilot actually said that he cant do anything about the flight attendant; just like she cant change his flying, he cant overule her decisions!! i think that is such BS!! the flight attendant was totally totally in the wrong! she should have been the one to be asked off the plane if she had a problem with it! and all the airline did was give them hotel vouchers for the night...thats it! i think thats bulls***!! if they were asked to get on the plane then why would they have given them hotel vouchers??? my DH is just as pissed about this as i was...i thought that was funny!

right but in the original she didn't mention that she was offered to reboard just proves that people are out to give their side of the story only

The flight attendant tried to hand her a blanket and told her to cover up, Gillette said. She declined, telling the flight attendant she had a legal right to nurse her daughter. Breast-feeding is protected under state law.

At no point in this was the woman told to "Stop breastfeeding." She was told to "cover up". While breastfeeding in public is protected by law, not covering up can be construed as indecent exposure. Ask Janet Jackson how slapping a pastie over the nipple and exposing her breast to 4 million people on live TV doesn't earn a lawsuit.

This woman did nothing amazing, other than complain that her "civil rights" were violated, when in all actuality the stewardess was doing her job in making the flight as comfortable for EVERYONE. Not everyone wants to witness such an event, regardless of how necessary it is. Taking a poop is necessary, but we generally cover ourselves up in the stall before we do that.

on the news the other day they showed her with her lawyer and they mentioned that the airline had claimed that the captain had asked them to come back on, but in actuality it was just to cover their asses cuz they did no such thing and the copilot actually said that he cant do anything about the flight attendant; just like she cant change his flying, he cant overule her decisions!! i think that is such BS!! the flight attendant was totally totally in the wrong! she should have been the one to be asked off the plane if she had a problem with it! and all the airline did was give them hotel vouchers for the night...thats it! i think thats bulls***!! if they were asked to get on the plane then why would they have given them hotel vouchers??? my DH is just as pissed about this as i was...i thought that was funny!

they would give them a hotel voucher becuase the didn't reboard!
I mean hell that doesn't happen often these days ( a hotel voucher)!!

At no point in this was the woman told to "Stop breastfeeding." She was told to "cover up". While breastfeeding in public is protected by law, not covering up can be construed as indecent exposure. Ask Janet Jackson how slapping a pastie over the nipple and exposing her breast to 4 million people on live TV doesn't earn a lawsuit.

This woman did nothing amazing, other than complain that her "civil rights" were violated, when in all actuality the stewardess was doing her job in making the flight as comfortable for EVERYONE. Not everyone wants to witness such an event, regardless of how necessary it is. Taking a poop is necessary, but we generally cover ourselves up in the stall before we do that.

if her entire tit wasn't hanging out it wasn't indecent exposure. from flying on alot of planes in my short 20 years i know that you really have to LOOK and make the EFFORT to see someone that is seated by the window with a man sititng next to her--unless her husband was a stick then it is damn near impossible unless you are trying to notice. its not like she whipped off her shirt and said oh everyone watch me breastfeed my kid

At no point in this was the woman told to "Stop breastfeeding." She was told to "cover up". While breastfeeding in public is protected by law, not covering up can be construed as indecent exposure. Ask Janet Jackson how slapping a pastie over the nipple and exposing her breast to 4 million people on live TV doesn't earn a lawsuit.

This woman did nothing amazing, other than complain that her "civil rights" were violated, when in all actuality the stewardess was doing her job in making the flight as comfortable for EVERYONE. Not everyone wants to witness such an event, regardless of how necessary it is. Taking a poop is necessary, but we generally cover ourselves up in the stall before we do that.

very well said
I get flamed for saying the same thing the other day I just didn't say it as tactful as you :yes

just to play devil's advocate would y'all be upset if it was a newborn or a couple month old bf-ing instead of a 22-month old? would that make a difference

if her entire tit wasn't hanging out it wasn't indecent exposure. from flying on alot of planes in my short 20 years i know that you really have to LOOK and make the EFFORT to see someone that is seated by the window with a man sititng next to her--unless her husband was a stick then it is damn near impossible unless you are trying to notice. its not like she whipped off her shirt and said oh everyone watch me breastfeed my kid

Janet Jackson's "entire" boob wasn't hanging out, and it was indecent exposure. I'm 6' tall, and having just gotten off of a plane three weeks ago, I can tell you I can see every single persons lap, regardless of where they sit.

If you're walking down the aisle, and see a flacid, skin-tone object protruding from between a guys legs, you're gonna do a double take and likely stare longer than you mean to while your brain tries to figure it out. In this case, it was simply the mans cane, but you were staring at it. If someone appears nude or exposed, we're going to stare until we're sure that's what it is. If it IS someone's appendage, we're going to stare even longer as we try to figure out why the hell someone would do that.

The woman was simply asked to cover herself up, nothing more. If the woman didn't have the decency to cover her own bossom in public, then the stewardess rightly decided she would do it for her.

Janet Jackson's "entire" boob wasn't hanging out, and it was indecent exposure. I'm 6' tall, and having just gotten off of a plane three weeks ago, I can tell you I can see every single persons lap, regardless of where they sit.

If you're walking down the aisle, and see a flacid, skin-tone object protruding from between a guys legs, you're gonna do a double take and likely stare longer than you mean to while your brain tries to figure it out. In this case, it was simply the mans cane, but you were staring at it. If someone appears nude or exposed, we're going to stare until we're sure that's what it is. If it IS someone's appendage, we're going to stare even longer as we try to figure out why the hell someone would do that.

The woman was simply asked to cover herself up, nothing more. If the woman didn't have the decency to cover her own bossom in public, then the stewardess rightly decided she would do it for her.


Well hell! All teenage girls clothes would be outlawed then!! AND bathing suits!!! There are laws saying women can breast feed where ever they want AND they dont have to cover up. I get pissed when i see a guys ass crack because of his pants hanging low but i would never tell him to cover up. I LOOK AWAY! you see less when someone is bf'ing than what half of the girls in this country is wearing.

Gillette, 27, said she was breast-feeding her 22-month-old daughter in a window seat in the next-to-last row, with no part of her breast showing and her husband between her and the aisle.

So why did she need to cover up more? As someone who does breastfeed I know you can do it without a blanket and not show any part of your boob. When a baby's mouth is on your boob it covers a good part of it, unless you are sitting there with half of your body uncovered. I found it harder to BF with a blanket and it made it more noticeable to people that I WAS BFing my baby when I did use a blanket.

ETA: There is also a huge difference between Janet Jackson flashing her tits for shock value and a mother trying to nurse her child. Are you trying to make nursing out to be a sexual act because it involves a boob? Are you calling nursing indecent? There's no evidence that this woman was flashing her boob, no recorded complaints by other passengers.

Blanket = LOOK AT ME!!! MY BABY IS SUCKING ON MY BOOB!!!

no blanket = aww....is your baby sleeping....oh wait! i am sorry.:blush :lol

http://www.foxnews.com/bigstory/index.html

go to big story at the bottom of the page

If another passenger had complained, then it would be appropriate to suggest that a blanket be used, in my opinion. But on her own, unless it was airline policy, then I'm surprise that the flight attendent asked. Moreso, I'm surprised that she was asked to leave the plane when she refused to comply. It sounds like they were both a bit stubborn and/or sensitive about the situation.

If another passenger had complained, then it would be appropriate to suggest that a blanket be used, in my opinion. But on her own, unless it was airline policy, then I'm surprise that the flight attendent asked. Moreso, I'm surprised that she was asked to leave the plane when she refused to comply. It sounds like they were both a bit stubborn and/or sensitive about the situation.

on the video that i linked too the mommy did an interview and said the flight attendent said that SHE was offended by her nursing. not other passangers.

So why did she need to cover up more? As someone who does breastfeed I know you can do it without a blanket and not show any part of your boob. When a baby's mouth is on your boob it covers a good part of it, unless you are sitting there with half of your body uncovered. I found it harder to BF with a blanket and it made it more noticeable to people that I WAS BFing my baby when I did use a blanket.

ETA: There is also a huge difference between Janet Jackson flashing her tits for shock value and a mother trying to nurse her child. Are you trying to make nursing out to be a sexual act because it involves a boob? Are you calling nursing indecent? There's no evidence that this woman was flashing her boob, no recorded complaints by other passengers.

Kristi breastfed, and I know exactly what it looks like. I'm not against it at all. What I AM getting at is purely hypocritical morals. None of us would would whip our private (and fine-able) body parts out in public before having kids. But after childbirth, it's suddenly ok to flop em out and throw our morality out the window simply because we're too lazy to cover ourselves? I'm quite certain that if we looked into the law for breastfeeding, we'll find that it covers what would be considered indecent exposure. Exposing your body in public is still indecent exposure, I don't care WHAT the reason (Unless your clothes are on fire.. or covered in acid.. but that's it!).

I'm not saying it's sexual or indecent at all, to me. I don't care if you want to walk around nude all day, I'm old enough to turn my head. But some people, mostly kids, aren't that mature. They'll point, laugh, get their friends, take notes what not. MOST people view breasts as a sexual thing, hence the debate over making a breast feeding law. There IS evidence that she flashed her boob.. unless she's found a way of latching on through her bra.

Of course covering up makes it more obvious that you're breast feeding.. so? The act doesn't offend many people - exposing yourself in public does.

ETA: Oh yeah, and Jackson's "shock value" wasn't really that, either.. it was a wardrobe malfunction.. it happens to all of us at some point. No matter how we want to word it, both women had their bodies exposed for people to see, regardless of if people LOOKED or not.

But after childbirth, it's suddenly ok to flop em out and throw our morality out the window simply because we're too lazy to cover ourselves?



well i guess i have no morals and too lazy.:yahoo :pinkie :yeehaw :thumbsup

well i guess i have no morals and too lazy.:yahoo :pinkie :yeehaw :thumbsup

Not unless you were doing these things before you had a baby.

You are assuming that by BF without a blanket people are flopping their tits out for everyone to see. I don't see BF without a blanket as throwing morals out the window because it CAN be done without showing your body off. People show more skin (and BOOB) wearing some of the clothes out there or a bikini.

And yes there are some people who are offended that women BF in public at all, blanket or not. Just as there are people militantly against formula feeding there are those who are militantly against breast feeding.

You are assuming that by BF without a blanket people are flopping their tits out for everyone to see. I don't see BF without a blanket as throwing morals out the window because it CAN be done without showing your body off. People show more skin (and BOOB) wearing some of the clothes out there or a bikini.

And yes there are some people who are offended that women BF in public at all, blanket or not. Just as there are people militantly against formula feeding there are those who are militantly against breast feeding.

I make no such assumptions! You know me much better than that! I am presenting the opposing argument here, and the fact remains that you cannot latch on an infant without using a blanket (or going underneath your shirt, which I'd consider covering up) without exposing your bare, full breast to the public. While it's only for a short amount of time, it's still exposed. Again, it doesn't bother me at all. The argument is simple: If you wouldn't expose your breast in public before having kids, why would having kids change it? The obvious answer is juggling a purse, diaper bag, stroller, whatever items you went out to buy, and of course, the newborn. Your hands are too full, and it would take too long to put everything down, dig out the blanket, position it, etc. with a screaming infant in your arms. I understand WHY it's being done, and I still see it as a reversal of morality.

The fact that pre-teen/teenage girls are wearing clothes more revealing than that says a lot about our morals as a generation of parents. I wouldn't let my daughter wear what I see on girls at the mall, and I still think that I'm in the majority. For every scantilly clad teeny bopper, I'll see a dozen or so more appropriately dressed girls (read: more clothes than skin in 24 degree weather). People who are offended by breastfeeding in public are probably the same people who write letters to the FCC about a cable TV program using the word "Ass" on a show at 3AM.

I agree with everythin Hate said.
I am not offended by BF like I said I did it myself.
But for the very reason he stated (flashing my boob) in public is the very reason I DID NOT BF in public and trust me mine were big enough that there was NO covering it up.
I am just saying she didn't have to be stubborn about it, neither did the stewardist. There are many things I am offended by but I don't bitch and whine and moan about it.
And for the ass crack comment. I would be the first to tell him to pull his pants up. Wouldn't phase me one bitI make no such assumptions! You know me much better than that! I am presenting the opposing argument here, and the fact remains that you cannot latch on an infant without using a blanket (or going underneath your shirt, which I'd consider covering up) without exposing your bare, full breast to the public. While it's only for a short amount of time, it's still exposed. Again, it doesn't bother me at all. The argument is simple: If you wouldn't expose your breast in public before having kids, why would having kids change it? The obvious answer is juggling a purse, diaper bag, stroller, whatever items you went out to buy, and of course, the newborn. Your hands are too full, and it would take too long to put everything down, dig out the blanket, position it, etc. with a screaming infant in your arms. I understand WHY it's being done, and I still see it as a reversal of morality.

The fact that pre-teen/teenage girls are wearing clothes more revealing than that says a lot about our morals as a generation of parents. I wouldn't let my daughter wear what I see on girls at the mall, and I still think that I'm in the majority. For every scantilly clad teeny bopper, I'll see a dozen or so more appropriately dressed girls (read: more clothes than skin in 24 degree weather). People who are offended by breastfeeding in public are probably the same people who write letters to the FCC about a cable TV program using the word "Ass" on a show at 3AM.

I didnt' see this until just now. I am a firm supporter of Breast feeding and have myself particpated in a "nurse in." There are state laws that protect breast feeding woman, I have to find my little B/Fing card that says the laws per states. I am a firm believer in extended/self weaning nursing as my daughter nursed off and on until about a year ago. The mother has every legal right to refuse to "cover up" #1 no passager came out against her stating they were bothered or offended...#2 part of breastfeeding at least for me is the visual contact I have with my child. My daughter use to look up at me, and I would sing to her or even just talk with her...I can't do that with a blanket now could I? I have been known to nurse my child in the commissary and you know not even my husband knew what I was doing until I said I couldnt' bend down and then he noticed what I was doing...Because of behavior of people who feel that public nursing is "indecent exposure" WHICH I CAN TELL YOU IS NOT AN ACTUAL LEGAL RECOURSE FOR PUBLIC BREAST FEEDING as most state laws protect the nursing mother (NO MATTER HOW OLD THE CHILD IS!!)

Everyone has their opinion, I will not discount that...but everyone also has personal rights and liberties...I personally am very proud of this court for recognizing how some of us mommies feel!

The flight attendant was wrong but I hate how you don't hear anything from the flight attendant who was so "offended". It is just this woman's story. I'm not saying that this kind of thing doesn't happen but I've come across some pretty insane pro-BF women who cross lines for no reason, just because they feel they can. I just don't see how ONE flight attendant could kick her off without the support of other attendants, a boss or someone else agreeing?? If there was more than one person agreeing to kick her, I can only imagine that she isn't as "innocent" as she claims? Who knows!

I didnt' see this until just now. I am a firm supporter of Breast feeding and have myself particpated in a "nurse in." There are state laws that protect breast feeding woman, I have to find my little B/Fing card that says the laws per states. I am a firm believer in extended/self weaning nursing as my daughter nursed off and on until about a year ago. The mother has every legal right to refuse to "cover up" #1 no passager came out against her stating they were bothered or offended...#2 part of breastfeeding at least for me is the visual contact I have with my child. My daughter use to look up at me, and I would sing to her or even just talk with her...I can't do that with a blanket now could I? I have been known to nurse my child in the commissary and you know not even my husband knew what I was doing until I said I couldnt' bend down and then he noticed what I was doing...Because of behavior of people who feel that public nursing is "indecent exposure" WHICH I CAN TELL YOU IS NOT AN ACTUAL LEGAL RECOURSE FOR PUBLIC BREAST FEEDING as most state laws protect the nursing mother (NO MATTER HOW OLD THE CHILD IS!!)

Everyone has their opinion, I will not discount that...but everyone also has personal rights and liberties...I personally am very proud of this court for recognizing how some of us mommies feel!

you go with your bad self!!!:wink i have BF'ed many places also BUT never got the walking and bf'ing thing down