Two Lawmakers Propose Bill To Help Mothers
BY BUDDY NEVINS
State Rep. Jared Moskowitz’s wife Leah had a horrific pregnancy last year — a series of hospital stays including surgery to repair a hole in her chest wall.
Due to give birth to twins this week, State Sen. Lauren Book, heard from expectant mothers in motherhood classes how difficult it was to breast feed their new babies outside the home.
Jared and Leah Moskowitz
The two Democratic lawmakers from Broward have joined to propose a bill to make it a little easier for women to have babies.
SB 650 and HB 669 would:
- Require stores or shopping centers to set aside a parking space close to the entrance for expectant mothers.
- Stipulate retail businesses “provide and maintain” a breastfeeding area “shielded from view” with a door that locks and a place to sit.
Only establishments with 100 parking spaces or more would be affected.
“Right now women have to go to the restroom with their babies (to breastfeed or express milk),” Book says.
She calls such an arrangement unfriendly to women and “unhygienic…Women shouldn’t have to sit in the stall in the mall to do this.”
Rep. Moskowitz, 36, of Coral Springs, explained that it was his experience with wife Leah that prompted the bill. He went to Sen. Book, 32, a longtime friend who lives in Plantation, to sponsor the Senate version and she added her breastfeeding language.
Leah Moskowitz, 32, was in the 15th week of pregnancy with her second child when doctors diagnosed her chest pain as spontaneous pneumothorax.
Taber’s Cyclopedic Medical Dictionary defines spontaneous pneumothorax as the “spontaneous entrance of air into the pleural cavity. The pressure may collapse the lung and displace the heart.”
Physicians were “uncertain” whether the condition had any connection to her pregnancy, Rep. Moskowitz says.
Surgeons repaired Leah Moskowitz’s chest in surgery complicated by the need to sedate a pregnant woman. She was hospitalized at least two more times due to other problems with her pregnancy.
Everything turned out okay. Roughly three months ago Leah Moskowitz gave birth to Max, who joins his brother Sam, 3.
His wife’s troubled pregnancy was an eye opener for Rep. Moskowitz. Acting as his wife’s chauffeur, he saw how arduous it was for a woman to navigate in the later months of their pregnancy.
“It was hard for her to do routine tasks such as go to the grocery store. Just getting through the parking lot was difficult,” Rep. Moskowitz says. “Society makes it very difficult for expectant mothers.”
So Rep. Moskowitz proposed the parking requirement portion of the bill.
“It would cost nothing,” he says. “We are just asking they set aside one space near the entrance.”
Using existing handicapped spaces wouldn’t work, he says, because he doesn’t want to take parking away from others who need them.
The two lawmakers are realistic about the bill’s prospects, which are not great. Bills are often proposed many times before they become law.
Book says she would be happy if a committee schedules a hearing.
“I am not blind to the challenge,” Book says. “There have been questions about the fiscal impact of this (for retailers). It’s an uphill battle but the bill is a starting point for the conversation.”
The Senate version of the bill is below. The House version is identical:
February 14th, 2017 at 10:39 am
Nice that Jared sees the light when things affect him personally. However, here’s the issue: Jared has lied to his constituents.
He continually lives outside of his district in the Parkland Golf & Country Club – renting a home in a gated community in Coral Springs to meet the requirements necessary.
Why is Coral Springs not good enough for our representative and his wife? Yet it’s good enough to represent and earn a paycheck from the State government.
February 14th, 2017 at 1:32 pm
There may be a compromise solution here: the legislative leadership will allow these measures to pass with an amendment that both the mother and child be armed.
February 14th, 2017 at 3:53 pm
Amazing that Moskowitz married a 10.
February 14th, 2017 at 3:55 pm
Prediction I can make is that nothing will show how Republicans hate women more than how this bill gets deep sixed.
February 15th, 2017 at 8:37 am
I have an enlarged prostate. It causes me to constantly urinate. I think these shops should provide a parking space for sufferers like me who need quick access to a bathroom. No More Wet Pants!
FROM BUDDY:
Although I know this is an attempt to be funny, I must explain that this is already provided. Get a handicap sticker for your car.
February 15th, 2017 at 8:43 am
I have an embarrassing infliction that is more common than you know. I am actually bald but comb my hair over the top of my head to hide this sad fact. Most people never know because it is completely convincing.
My problem is that it is very windy here and it blows my hair out of place, causing me complete embarrassment unless I catch myself in a mirror first. I think businesses should be mandated to mount mirrors in convenient places, both inside and outside so I can comb my hair properly.
February 15th, 2017 at 12:06 pm
Good job. Just no breast feeding in the barbershop. I got all i can handle.(trust me)…..
February 15th, 2017 at 2:10 pm
This is a great bill!! Let’s just hope they give it a hearing.
February 15th, 2017 at 6:59 pm
FROM BUDDY:
Although I know this is an attempt to be funny, I must explain that this is already provided. Get a handicap sticker for your car.
Just like pregnant women should.
AGAIN FROM BUDDY:
First of all, the sponsors of the bill believe that taking spaces away from existing users would be wrong.
Second, getting a handicapped permit takes roughly two months, Rep. Moskowitz says. If a woman has a difficult pregnancy beginning in her seventh month, her pregnancy would be over or almost over before receiving the sticker.
February 16th, 2017 at 10:10 am
Can I park in these spaces if I identify myself as a pregnant woman?????
February 16th, 2017 at 10:27 am
AGAIN FROM BUDDY:
First of all, the sponsors of the bill believe that taking spaces away from existing users would be wrong.
Second, getting a handicapped permit takes roughly two months, Rep. Moskowitz says. If a woman has a difficult pregnancy beginning in her seventh month, her pregnancy would be over or almost over before receiving the sticker.
First of all, the handicap spaces are there for ALL handicaps, including pregnancy.
Secondly, a woman does not suddenly find herself 7 months pregnant. Plenty of time to apply for a sticker.
Today I am healthy and thank God I can park far away from a store’s entrance. Tomorrow I may break my leg. In two months time when the sticker arrives, I will be well on my way to healing and might not need the sticker or only for a short while. What is the difference?
The constant need to forever grant special privileges to new classes of needy people is getting ridiculous.
February 16th, 2017 at 11:26 am
Hey Moskowitz,
Pregnancy is a self induced temporary condition.
Moskowitz acting [lol] as his wife’s chauffeur: If Leah’s condition is so grave she should not be grocery shopping at all.
Man up take the list to the store or send on of your aides or housekeeper to do your schlepping. Reading this self-pity article it appears that Jared is the one that had difficulty navigating the parking lot.
I am lazy will you petition your colleagues for special parking inside the grocery stores for me?