Nursing mom jury duty exemption bill introduced during Alabama legislative session

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WBRC) - What started out as a viral post on Facebook is now making it’s way through the state legislature.

There’s currently a push to change state law to help nursing moms avoid a situation that went viral last month: A nursing mom from Morris was threatened with DHR involvement when she brought her baby to the Jefferson County Courthouse.

Kandace Brown is using her own frustrating experience as a way to spearhead change: “We’ll do whatever we can to protect these moms.”

WBRC sat down with Kandace Brown in January after she was made to feel guilty for bringing her three-month-old to jury duty.

“I had no choice,” said Brown. “She cannot eat without me and I couldn’t understand the entire time how they couldn’t understand that.”

Parker is exclusively breastfed so Brown spent around three hours explaining to judges and clerks why she couldn’t serve on jury duty without her baby.

“On the microphone in front of 300 people, one of the judges said, ‘All the mothers that have children here today need to make accommodations for your children to be picked up. We would hate for DHR to be involved.’”

After public outcry, the Alabama Supreme Court issued an administrative order excusing nursing mothers of infants from jury duty only four days after the incident.

Some people are still pushing for it to be put into law.

“I think it’s important that this bill is a law because an administrative order can be changed just as quickly as a stroke of a pen,” said Sen. April Weaver.

Lawmakers are now stepping in to help.

Senator April Weaver is sponsoring Senate Bill 76, what she hopes to be called “Parker’s Law” after baby Parker.

Rep. Susan Dubose is pushing this bill through the House as House Bill 209.

“I feel that nursing mothers have to deal with so many stresses in their daily lives and wondering whether or not they have to go to jury duty is certainly not another one that they should have on their plate every day,” said Sen. Weaver.

Brown said she wants to see this through to the end.

“I’m on board,” she said. “Whatever they want to do, I’m there because they had asked if I would go to Montgomery next month and support and tell our story a little bit and if they want to, I’m still ready to go!”

As the pieces of legislation move through the legislative session, we’ll keep you updated.

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