ClydeR
04-07-2012, 11:11 AM
As he began the process of positioning himself to run for president as a "severely conservative" Republican, one of Romney's early conservative conversions was on the topic of breastfeeding.
In 2006 the Massachusetts Department of Public Health sought to become the first state in the nation to ban giveaways women typically receive after giving birth. The gifts were generally a bag, sponsored by the baby formula companies, that contained infant formula along with coupons and other various items for newborns. The Department of Public Health contended they were part of a corporate effort to stop women from breastfeeding their newborns and that breastfeeding was the healthier option.
Romney sought to make sure women had full access to those parting gifts given when they left the maternity ward and took issue with the Department's decision.
More... (http://www.buzzfeed.com/andrewkaczynski/as-governor-romney-dove-into-breastfeeding-debate)
Some opponents of the decision, however, saw the issue as a sell out by the Romney Administration to corporate interests. Dr. Melissa Bartick, chairwoman of the Massachusetts Breast-feeding Coalition told the Boston Globe "this has nothing to do with freedom of choice; of course, women are free to feed their babies however they would like. What the marketing does is undermine that choice by setting them up for breast-feeding failure." Adding ''corporate interest is really the only political constituency here."
In 2006 the Massachusetts Department of Public Health sought to become the first state in the nation to ban giveaways women typically receive after giving birth. The gifts were generally a bag, sponsored by the baby formula companies, that contained infant formula along with coupons and other various items for newborns. The Department of Public Health contended they were part of a corporate effort to stop women from breastfeeding their newborns and that breastfeeding was the healthier option.
Romney sought to make sure women had full access to those parting gifts given when they left the maternity ward and took issue with the Department's decision.
More... (http://www.buzzfeed.com/andrewkaczynski/as-governor-romney-dove-into-breastfeeding-debate)
Some opponents of the decision, however, saw the issue as a sell out by the Romney Administration to corporate interests. Dr. Melissa Bartick, chairwoman of the Massachusetts Breast-feeding Coalition told the Boston Globe "this has nothing to do with freedom of choice; of course, women are free to feed their babies however they would like. What the marketing does is undermine that choice by setting them up for breast-feeding failure." Adding ''corporate interest is really the only political constituency here."