Lawmakers consider free admission to shows for breast-fed infants

PROVIDENCE, R.I. --Rhode Island legislators are considering a bill that would allow mothers who are breastfeeding their infants to bring those children to the theater and other live performances for free.

House lawmakers at the General Assembly approved a bill Thursday to permit free admission to shows for children under 1 year old if they are being breastfed by their mothers. The Senate has yet to approve it.

Rep. Peter Kilmartin, D-Pawtucket, said he introduced the bill after a mother told him she was required to pay an additional $75 to take her child to a show.

He said the bill restricts the free admission to breast-fed children because if a child isn't being breast-fed, then a babysitter could be hired for the child.

The bill does not specify how theater officials would determine whether a child is being breastfed.

Opponents of the bill say parents should not bring children that young to public performances and should not be given a free ticket.

"They should be paying double for the disturbance they're creating," Rep. Joseph Trillo, R-Warwick, told The Providence Journal.