This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

I was disappointed and embarrassed by comments from Sen. Scott Jenkins, R-Plain City, about Senate Bill 59, as quoted in Wednesday's Tribune.

As a community leader in a state whose citizens pride themselves on their family-centered priorities, his attitude is appalling.

This proposal is not about lowering workplace expectations or productivity, or compromising the level of professionalism at any workplace.

It is about accommodating the biologically normal way of feeding infants when they must be apart from their mothers.

Sen. Jenkins, you cannot say you want people to be self-reliant if you are unwilling to support a bill that allows mothers to help support their families and maintain health.

Degrading comments comparing using a breast pump to express milk to "milking" may be amusing in Jenkins' household, but for the women of Utah who are doing their best to bend biology and meet their families' needs, this sort of disrespect is patently offensive.

I work as a volunteer breastfeeding counselor in Weber County, and many of my calls come from Jenkins' constituents, women who are concerned about balancing workplace obligations and their responsibilities as mothers.

I can assure you, many employers do not offer mothers the basic accommodation of a brief break to express milk, and many women cope with inconvenience, rudeness and even harassment from employers and colleagues.

I, too, wish SB59 were not necessary, but it is precisely because of backwards attitudes such as Jenkins' that it is.

Sally H.N. Wright

Ogden