Today's unanimous decision in Raffensperger v. Jackson, written by Chief Justice Boggs, strikes down the 2016 Georgia Lactation Consultant Practice Act, which requires lactation consultants to have an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC) license, issued by a private licensing organization (or "a license issued by another jurisdiction if the requirements for that license are equal to or greater than" the IBCLC requirements):
IBCLC certification may be obtained in three different pathways, each of which requires that a person pass a written examination and complete 14 courses in health sciences, eight of which must be college-level courses; 95 hours of lactation-specific education, including five focused on communication skills; and at least 300 supervised clinical hours. The IBCLC examination costs approximately $600-$700.
{According to the affidavit of the Secretary's expert, the eight required college-level courses are biology; human anatomy; human physiology; infant and child growth and development; introduction to clinical research; nutrition, psychology, counseling skills, or communication skills; and sociology, cultural sensitivity, or cultural anthropology. The other six courses, which may be completed as continuing education courses, are basic life support, medical documentation, medical terminology, occupational safety and security for health professionals, professional ethics for health professionals, and universal safety precautions and infection control.}
A Certified Lactation Counselor (CLC) license, offered by another organization, doesn't suffice; that license requires that the licensee "complete a 52-hour course; demonstrate competency in breastfeeding assessments, counseling, teaching, infant weight gain, contraindications, and the CLC Code of Ethics; and pass a written examination, which costs approximately $120." Likewise, it doesn't suffice to have training from a separate group, such as ROSE (Reaching Our Sisters Everywhere), which sued to challenge the law:
