- In the latest in a series of airport security nightmares,
a woman flying from New York to Florida was forced to drink three bottles
of her own breast milk before being allowed to board a flight at JFK International
Airport - in an incident that has one prominent New York civil rights attorney
ready to sue.
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- Elizabeth McGanny of Oceanside, N.Y. called WABC Radio's
Curtis Sliwa and Ron Kuby Tuesday morning to relate the story.
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- Guards at JFK's Delta terminal first "patted me
down and made me take my shoes off," McGanny told the morning radio
duo. "One security guard took my four-month-old out of my arms and
then they went through the baby's diaper bag."
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- There the guards discovered the three suspect bottles,
McGanny said, and promptly ordered her to drink the contents.
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- "I'm not drinking that. It's breast milk,"
she replied. "They said, 'Either drink all three bottles or you'r'
not getting on the plane.'"
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- McGanny said that when she asked the guards why they
were putting her through the ordeal, they explained, "There could
be explosives in the baby bottles and I could throw something at the stewardesses."
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- "I asked them if I could just taste it; if I could
just show them how you would check a baby's bottle - that it was warm milk
and everything. And they said, 'No,'" ordering her to "drink
it all."
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- The nursing mom then offered to feed the milk to her
baby as the guards looked on but they refused.
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- After hearing the tale, Kuby, who doubles as one of New
York's most celebrated civil rights attorneys, suggested that McGanny call
his office. "How much money do you smell here?" Sliwa asked his
radio partner.
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- http://groups.yahoo.com/group/marketthoughts/message/7231
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- Mother Forced To Drink Breast Milk At JFK
Security Check
- 8-9-2
- A New York woman is considering taking legal action after
security officials at JFK International Airport insisted she drink from
bottles of her own breast milk in front of other passengers.
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- Elizabeth McGarry, 40, says security guards questioned
the contents of three bottles in her carry-on baggage before she boarded
a plane with her infant daughter in April.
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- The New York Post reports after Mrs McGarry explained
it was breast milk, the guards insisted she take several sips from each
bottle to prove the fluid posed no security threat.
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- The officials rejected a compromise offer by Mrs McGarry
that she dab a little milk on her arm and lick it off.
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- "It was very uncomfortable and very embarrassing
and very disgusting," she said.
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- "I'm all for random searches ... but I do think
the number of Caucasian, lactating mothers who have passed through Al Qaeda
training camps is negligible," she said.
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- Mrs McGarry is now weighing a suggestion from the civil
rights lawyer that she sue over the incident.
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- The Transport Security Administration (TSA), which oversees
all airport security screeners, is refusing to comment directly on Mrs
McGarry's case, saying it is only aware of press reports.
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- "The TSA does not require people to drink from their
liquids before going through security checkpoints," said TSA spokesman
Greg Warren.
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- "We do have a policy that anything going through
a checkpoint must be screened and any liquids must be in resealable containers,"
he added.
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- http://www.abc.net.au/news/justin/nat/newsnat-9aug2002-10.htm
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