Breastfeeding mothers summoned for jury duty may soon find themselves needing a doctor's note to be excused from their civil service.

Last week, the state House passed an amendment 191-6 proposed by state Rep. Tina Davis, D-Bucks, to Senate Bill 210, which aims to expand who is exempt from jury duty under Title 42. Davis' amendment proposes that women who are breastfeeding and get called for jury duty can provide the court with a certified letter from their physician to receive a one-year exemption.The amendment to the bill, if passed, would be added to the additional exemptions already proposed, which include any person age 75 or older who requests to be excused; as well as judges and magisterial district judges of the commonwealth and judges of the United States.Currently exemptions include those who are in active service of the armed forces; have served on jury duty within three years of one's current summons except if that person served as a juror for fewer than three days; undue hardship or extreme inconvenience; are spouses, children, siblings, parents, grandparents or grandchildren of victims of criminal homicide; or have previously served for a term of 18 months on a statewide investigation grand jury.Davis has said the additional amendment would help women who are in a critical time in their child's life because Pennsylvania currently does not have any law regarding breastfeeding mothers and jury duty.Locally, county courts have already been accommodating women who are breastfeeding even without a law in place.In Carbon County, Robert Brewster, court administrator, said that if a woman requests to be excused because of breastfeeding, the judge reviews the request and either excuses the mother or moves her to another time that is more convenient for her; and if no request is made before jury selection, the court staff will look to accommodate the woman as best as possible.Renee L. Kimball, Monroe County district court administrator, echoed Brewster's statement, saying that, "All jurors summoned have the option to submit a request to be deferred or excused based on undue hardship. In the event a mother wishes to serve but needs to use a lactation room during the course of service, the 43rd Judicial District will provide those accommodations.""It is not reasonable to require a mother to be away from her child for unknown periods during breastfeeding," Davis said. "Fifteen states enable moms to be excused from jury duty during this precious time, and Pennsylvania should join their ranks."But not all think the added requirement for women to obtain a certified letter from their doctor to be exempt is fair.State Rep. David Parker, R-Monroe, who was one of six representatives who voted "no" for the House amendment, questioned why the law should "add this extra burden on nursing mothers when right now so many counties in the state simply require mothers to notify the court that they are breastfeeding or caring for a preschool aged child to be excused from jury duty."It's ridiculous to ask mothers of newborns to take their perfectly healthy babies to a doctor's office to get a certified letter, simply because they choose to breastfeed their babies," Parker said following the vote. "County courthouses have been providing such an accommodation for years, but now it's as if we are saying breastfeeding is comparable to an illness or disability that requires a doctor's note."While my focus is on fixing school funding and reducing school property taxes, I needed to speak up when I saw a well-intended amendment about to hurt the very people it seeks to help," Parker said. "I am hopeful the Senate can fix the bill before it becomes law."Parker, of Stroud Township, and his wife have five children, all of whom were breastfed.The bill now goes back to the Senate for another consideration with the amendment before it can be signed into law.