Mr. George Kent

he main issue is to look at the mother-child pair and figure out how to protect them from the rest of the world. But there's an issue that keeps coming up when looking at the relationship. Under the normal conditions, we believe that the mother and child "agree" that breastfeeding should go on. But sometimes the woman can not or will not breastfeed. 

Whether for good reasons or bad reasons, a woman may prefer not to breastfeed. In terms of the legal framework, there's a question of whether the child has a right to be breastfed. Not merely a broad right to good nutrition, but specifically the right to good nutrition through one particular means: breastfeeding. 

If you make that statement, it may be interpreted that therefore the mother has a legal obligation to breastfeed. So that even though she is reluctant, she might somehow be compelled to breastfeed. Some people feel that women should be pressured into breastfeeding. Others say no, that the mother's right to choose is also of very great importance. 

My view is that even if you view it as desirable to obligate a mother to breastfeed, it is not politically feasible. It is not a wise approach. This is the dilemma that has been the cause of some discussion here and we're trying to figure out how to resolve it. 

When I originally wrote my paper I wrote that it is the child's right to be breastfed, but I realize now that that is too strong. I tried to focus on the pair in relation to the rest of the world. I'm now sympathizing with a more direct reading of the law. The international law talks about a child's right to nutrition and the need to serve the best interest of the child. 

There's another issue that I should mention. There's a tendency among many people to use the word "rights" rather loosely. I like to stick close to the law and say our rights are what appears in the law books. I get very concerned when people say, for example, that breastfeeding is a human right. We can't just make up rights over coffee. 

There's a legislative process within countries at the international level. The Convention on the Rights of the Child took 10 years to negotiate. I want to maintain a level of respect for that process. 

Could you imagine a child growing up and saying I have diabetes because I wasn't breastfed, and suing the mother? If you are an advocate of breastfeeding, do you think the possibility is a good idea or a bad idea? That's why my position is not to say that breastfeeding is a right, but to say that good nutrition is a right, the best interest of the child is a right, the highest level of health is a right. These are legal rights in the CRC.