Breastfeeding moms will now be exempt from jury duty in New York

Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed this bill on Monday.

By Zara Hanawalt October 24, 2019

If you’ve ever breastfed, you know what an incredible commitment it is—you can barely schedule a lunch date, let alone something that occupies the whole day…especially when you’re in the early days of breastfeeding.

That’s why a new law, which will exempt New York nursing moms from jury duty, is so game-changing. According to Spectrum News, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed this bill on Monday. It will exempt mothers from jury duty for up to two years.

This is so important: Juggling other responsibilities while nursing is so hard, and no mama needs the added pressure of handling jury duty thrown into the mix. Pumping at a court house can be very stressful for breastfeeding moms.

“While jury service is a critically important civic duty, we also know new moms oftentimes juggle countless responsibilities and navigate enormous adjustments in the early stages of their child’s life,” says Cuomo. “This commonsense measure takes that reality into account by providing new moms the flexibility and option to postpone jury service while they care for a newborn.”

You can request a jury duty postponement by submitting a doctor’s note, and you must not have postponed or been excused from duty previously.

“Nursing mothers have extraordinary commitments and this new law will remove one extra source of stress for them,” says Sen. Velmanette Montgomery. “I thank Governor Cuomo for signing this bill so we can provide some real relief to breastfeeding moms by allowing them to postpone jury duty.”

Seventeen states and Puerto Rico already have similar laws.

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