Over the past few years, there's been a lot of affirmation about how great breastfeeding is for both mother and baby. So why are U.S. laws still so far behind? Only 21 states formally exempt breastfeeding from public indecency laws, according to information from the National Conference of State Legislatures. There is no federal legislation to protect a woman's right to nurse in public, and even when there is a public breastfeeding law, in some states business owners can kick a woman out if they don't want her to nurse her baby in their establishment, says Melissa Vance, an attorney with La Leche League International, a breastfeeding advocacy group. Even the workplace isn't safe: Many businesses still fail to provide breastfeeding employees with a clean, comfortable place to pump or sufficient breaks to do so. (For employers that do support breastfeeding, see our 100 Best Companies for Working Mothers) Fed up with the discrimination, U.S. Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) has just introduced the Breastfeeding Promotion Act, a proposed amendment to the Civil Rights Act of 1964. If it passes (a decision was still pending at press time), breastfeeding women will be protected from discrimination at the office—and companies with private lactation areas will get tax breaks. Until then, the fight for the right to breastfeed will continue to happen one establishment at a time. For more information, visit lalecheleague.org.