The U.S. has moved one step closer to achieving potty parity with a new law coming into force that now requires male toilets in public buildings to also have baby changing facilities apart from women’s ones.
President Barack Obama has signed into law the Bathrooms Accessible in Every Situation Act (the BABIES Act) which requires that both men’s and women’s restrooms in publicly accessible federal buildings contain baby changing tables.
Representative David Cicilline first introduced the bill back in April, and it received bipartisan support in Congress, TheHuffington Post reported.
“Government needs to do more to ensure that public buildings are family-friendly. No mom or dad should ever have to worry about finding a safe, sanitary place to change their baby ? least of all in a federal building that’s paid for by taxpayers,” Mr. Cicilline stated on his website.
“The BABIES Act is a common sense proposal that makes government buildings more welcoming for families and helps promote good public health,” he said.
The law defines “baby changing facility” as “a table or other device suitable for changing the diaper of a child of age 3 or under” and mandates that these facilities be “physically safe, sanitary, and appropriate”.
