Moms nurse a grudge against Galleria

06:26 PM CDT on Thursday, July 1, 2004

By Jeremy Rogalski / 11 News

Click to watch Jeremy Rogalski's report from Wednesday

Click to watch Chau Nguyen's report from Thursday

You could call it mother's day out -- with a mission.

When a Galleria security guard confronted Julie Doyle as she breast-fed her son, she decided to fight back and other moms rallied around her.

Courtesy Reader Nursing mothers staged a protest at the Galleria on Thursday.

They protested Thursday by staging a "nurse-in" at the posh shopping mall.

"Got milk? Feed babies!" the mothers chanted.

They gathered in front of the Gap and breastfed their babies to make a point.

Galleria management wouldn't allow television cameras inside the mall but Julie Doyle told us later she was thrilled with the turnout and the show of support.

"I think it's absolutely amazing," Doyle said.

HOME VIDEO The Galleria wouldn't allow news cameras inside so the mothers shot home video.

"I just wanted to show that it's not a bad thing -- that it's a positive thing," said Joanne Smart, one of the mothers who rallied around Doyle.

"Getting it out there where people are seeing it is the only way where people will begin to accept it," agreed Emily Sing.

It all started last Sunday during a laid-back day at the mall for Julie Doyle and her son. Like many other Galleria shoppers, four-month old Will got hungry. So Doyle fed him, sitting on a mall bench.

"A security guard came up and said, very confrontationally, 'excuse me, can you please cover yourself?'"said Doyle.

She says she asked security for any written policy on nursing. She was told that it was not forbidden, but the preference was to breast-feed in a less-populated place.

"It bothers me that they were very aggressive and confrontational for something that I have the legal right to do," she said.

Doyle told her friends, who in turn told others, and soon a civil rights-style sit-in, or in this case, "nurse-in" was organized.

Organizers encouraged moms from all over to breast-feed on Thursday at noon.

Amy Hartley planned to be there in support of Doyle, other nursing moms and the law.

"This is an opportunity to educate people, to educate the public, to educate employees, to educate employers," Hartley said.

Doyle still calls it a disregard for the law.

For the record, the Texas Department of Health says that mothers have a right to nurse in any public place, and the agency encourages moms to file complaints if they run into problems.

Galleria management refused to comment on camera but released the following statement:

“A small group of mothers did come to The Galleria today to support their right to breast feed in public. They were very peaceful, did not display any protest behavior nor did they provide any disruptions to the patrons and businesses in the center. They stayed for a short while and then left without incident. Again, we would like to re-iterate that The Galleria supports a mother’ right to breast feed her child in public, and there is no policy at The Galleria that prohibits a mother from breast feeding wherever she may choose. It was our intent to offer a restroom lounge sitting area solely for the comfort of the nursing mother. We sincerely apologize if any statements made by our security staff were misinterpreted.”