Gisele Wants a Breastfeeding Law--Crazy?

Brazilian bombshell Gisele Bundchen has dropped a bombshell. In an interview with Harper's Bazaar UK magazine, she declared that mothers should be legally held to breastfeed their babies for six months.

Obviously the supermodel's words triggered many a vicious response even in Italy:

There are those that wonder what would happen to those moms that have had mastectomies and cannot physically breastfeed;

There are those that defend mothers that are on medication so powerful it would harm their baby if they were to nurse;

There are those that defend moms that quit nursing because they are not producing enough milk;

There are those who deem the comments of Benjamin Brady's mom offensive to women with nipple or breast malformations;

There are those that wonder what would be the predicament of moms that have to return to work before their child turns six months old;

And of course there are those that say breast feeding -- or not -- should be a personal choice and never an imposition.

I say that it was an exaggerated and poorly thought out statement. But I can perhaps understand the thought process behind it.

Let's leave aside those women who unfortunately cannot breastfeed for medical or health reasons. I doubt Gisele was targeting them. But if your body produces the perfect food for your baby, surely it's absurd to deny him/her the privilege for at least six months?

And isn't it absurd that there are women who don't breastfeed on the grounds of vanity ("I don't want to ruin my breasts"), selfishness ("I don't want to feel like a cow 24/7"), ignorance ("Powdered milk is just as good"), or frivolity ("Nursing is so un-sexy")?

Outlawing moms that don't breast feed is ridiculous. But that breast feeding is a universal right of every child (with a healthy mother) doesn't sound ridiculous at all to me.