Who is protected under breastfeeding discrimination law? On this week's Buffalo Roundtable, Sheila Gunn Reid and Lise Merle reacted to a clip from an Australian Senate hearing and to what they found on La Leche League Canada's website.

In the clip, a senator notes that Australia's Sex Discrimination Act specifically refers to discrimination against a woman on the grounds of breastfeeding, and that the explanatory memorandum said the protections were intended for women who breastfeed. The senator then asks whether the commission interprets section 7A as providing those protections to “a biological male who identifies as a woman and induces lactation.” The official's answer in the clip was “yes.”

Sheila said that in Australia, trans-identified men who take pharmaceuticals to induce lactation are protected “under the same banner as women who breastfeed their babies naturally.”

“This is profanely abusive,” she said. “The only people that can breastfeed are women who have recently given birth.”

“Men should not be protected under women’s human rights laws,” Lise said. “If men can become women, women cease to be able to describe their material reality.”

Go Ad Free

Lise added the debate is also playing out in Canada, with Sheila pointing to La Leche League Canada. The group, Sheila said, “used to be a reputable organization” that helped new mothers. Its website says “chestfeeding” is a term used by some parents who identify as transmasculine and non-binary.

“Whether you breastfeed, chestfeed, or nurse your children or support a partner who does, LLLC welcomes you,” the page reads. “Our volunteer Leaders will use the terms you have chosen to describe your breastfeeding and parenting experiences.”

Lise said an organization meant to serve women and babies should not be doing this. “So much of figuring out breastfeeding in the early days has to do with the bonding process,” she said, and women who struggle “often need extra supports.” Those women, she said, visit the website and see themselves “relegated to chest feeders.”

“That tells you everything you need to know about what La Leche League Canada thinks about women,” Sheila said.

The hosts agreed the safety of the child should come first. “Is this appropriate or harmful to the child?” is the question that should always be at the forefront, Lise said. She added that she believes children breastfed by men “are being harmed. It is an act of abuse.”

Buffalo Roundtable streams live Wednesdays at 11 a.m. MT / 1 p.m. ET.