Bill to Regulate Selling Breast Milk

A state representative wants to set standards for storing and selling breast milk in Michigan.

The state legislature is considering a proposal to set standards for selling breast milk in Michigan. State representative Erika Geiss introduced the bill in March and says she hopes it will spark the creation of new, so-called breast milk banks.

She says in many areas sharing breast milk is a long-standing practice.

“For the people who think that it might be taboo, in human history there have been many practices of milk sharing whether it’s informally or it’s informal arrangements,” Geiss says. 

She says any breast milk collected would be tested and pasteurized before sale. The legislature’s standing committee on health policy plans to hold hearings on the proposal this fall.

 

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