Student Denied Extra Exam Time For Breastfeeding
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BOSTON — A judge rejected a Harvard student’s request yesterday for extra break time during her nine-hour medical licensing exam so she could pump breast milk for her infant daughter.
Sophie Currier, 33, sued after the National Board of Medical Examiners turned down her request to take more than the standard 45 minutes in breaks during the exam.
She said that if she does not nurse her 4-month-old daughter, Lea, or pump breast milk every two to three hours, she risks medical complications.
Norfolk Superior Court Judge Patrick Brady said Ms. Currier has other options, beyond asking the board to change its rules for her. “The plaintiff may delay the test, which is offered numerous times during the year, until she has finished her breast-feeding and the need to express milk,” he said.
Ms. Currier, of Brookline, has finished a joint M.D.-Ph.D. program at Harvard University while having two babies in two years. She has been offered a residency in clinical pathology at Massachusetts General Hospital in November but cannot accept it unless she passes the test. Her goal is a career in medical research.
