COLUMBUS – Members of the Ohio House of Representatives have supported mothers by passing State Reps. Roy Klopfenstein, R-Haviland, and Angie King’s, R-Celina, legislation to exempt nursing mothers from jury duty.

Under current law, there are only a few exemptions for mothers and jurors that are suffering from a disease or illness. House Bill 34 will create a new exemption for breastfeeding mothers to be excused from jury duty.

“Our legislation seeks to ease the burden on mothers by establishing a jury duty exemption for a mother with a child under the age of one and is breastfeeding,” said Klopfenstein. “To be excused, all a mother would need to do is submit a signed affidavit.”

Similar legislation exists in 18 other states. The measure is a simple fix that supports families.

“This early bonding time between mother and child is critical to the physical, emotional and mental growth,” said King. “The benefits of nursing go well beyond nourishment and are beneficial to the health of both the child and mother.”

The legislation heads to the Ohio Senate for further consideration.