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A Missouri woman is to face court this week  for bringing her new born child to the courthouse for jury duty because she was  breastfeeding.

Laura Trickle, of Lee’s Summit, delivered her  daughter Axel in March and was breastfeeding when she was called for jury duty  in August.

She asked to be exempt from appearing, as she  was breastfeeding, but received notice that she must report to court to fullfill  her civic obligation and serve jury duty, according to the Kansas City Star.

Trickle was told to either arrange for child  care or bring somebody with her who could care for the child during jury  selection.

On September 3, she appeared for jury duty  with her child, but according to the ensuing court order, she ‘willfully and  contemptuously appeared for jury service with her child and no one to care for  the child’.

Trickle will now face Jackson County  Presiding Judge Marco Roldan on Thursday at a hearing at the Jackson County  Courthouse downtown.

Those who skip jury duty can be found in  contempt of court and ordered to pay a fine of up to $500 and maybe even be  arrested.

The mother insists she is not a criminal,  saying ‘I’ve never even had a speeding ticket’.

Breastfeeding women are exempted from jury  duty in 12 states.

New legislation introduced by a St. Joseph  physician and state senator, Rob Schaaf, would exempt breastfeeding mothers from  jury duty across  Missouri.

Such an exemption would help encourage more  Missouri mothers to breastfeed, said state Sen. Rob Schaaf of St.  Joseph.

‘Babies who are breastfed  generally are healthier, are less likely to have  certain health problems and  will cost the state less resources,’ said  Schaaf to the Kansas City  Star.

‘Jury duty is a roadblock to  that.’

Missouri statutes allow for exemptions when a  juror would face ‘an undue or extreme physical or financial hardship’.

Judge Roldan said he has on some occasions  excused potential jurors who just had a death in the family, or teachers who  were scheduled to give midterm exams.

While keeping some jurors, he often has  sought to accommodate their needs, he said.

One juror who told Roldan he could not sit  for extended periods received a seat in the back row of the jury box, where he  was free to stand occasionally, even during testimony.

Some health advocates appreciate the  accommodations the court makes.

‘Providing a room for mothers to breastfeed  or pump is good, and we very much  encourage that,’ said Anne Biswell of the  Mother & Child Health  Coalition, which promotes wellness in the Kansas City  area.

Roldan, while declining to discuss Trickle’s  specific case, said breastfeeding Jackson County mothers have the option of  using occasional breaks during jury service to use a private room to pump milk  and store it, feeding it to their children later.

They are also allowed to bring a caregiver to  the courthouse to watch the child during trial proceedings and then take the  child to a private room to breastfeed.

But Trickle said she has no child care  options, and stays at home while Axel’s father works.

 About 1,000 potential jurors report downtown  every month, but the number of judges needing juries varies, and sometimes fewer  jurors may be assigned to cases.‘About 50 per cent are not even going to go  upstairs to a case,’ Roldan told the Star.

Trickle is one of two breastfeeding Jackson  County women who recently have faced possible penalties for not serving jury  duty. It’s not that she isn’t willing, she said.

‘The issue is the timing,’ she said. ‘I just  can’t do it right now.’

Via Daily Mail