Judgment breastfeeding no Hartz IV more needs

Breastfeeding does not cause any costly extra demand

17/10/2013

The Landessozialgericht Hessen sees no need for nursing mothers who receive Hartz IV benefits. In the judgment, the judges did not see any additional expenses from breastfeeding. In contrast, however, there is an additional need for pregnant women.

In one specific case, a young mother complained in 2012. The lawyer argued that mothers who need breastfeeding in the first four months after childbirth need about 638 kcal more than normal. From the fifth month of life of the child, the additional calorie requirement would be about 525. Although an additional need during pregnancy would be granted, nursing mothers would not. Therefore, there would be a constitutionally significant unequal treatment, the complaint side. The Social Court Wiesbaden AZ: S 16 AS 581/11 did not follow the argument. Therefore, the mother complained now before the Hessian State Social Court.

But even in this instance, the plaintiff failed. The legislature did not provide for an additional need for nursing mothers, the judges said. The mother can not rely on a costly diet because the nutritional needs are not increased due to illness.

From the judgment: „As the Social Court has rightly stated in the contested decision, SGB II does not provide for additional needs for nursing mothers. This applies to both the current version as well as the applicable version of July 20, 2006. An analogous application of the § 21 (2) SGB II is already in the absence of an illegal regulatory gap. The plaintiff is also no increase in legal entitlement to additional demand for costly nutrition (§ 21Abs. 5 SGB II), because any additional expenditure was not due to illness. Reference is made to the convincing legal versions of the first-instance judgment on the simple-law legal situation, which the Senate, after its own examination, has adopted as its own. “

No irrefutable Hartz IV need for breastfeeding
In addition, no „irrefutable need“ available. For the fact that the mother would not have to buy powdered milk, there would be a saving, which is compensated by the increased calorie intake, it was said. In addition, the definition of the rule set is not unconstitutional, since the legislature for the sake of order „make typing and blanket arrangements“ got to. Therefore, the nutritional proportion can not be individualized. For example, the legislator did not have to introduce separate legislation for breastfeeding. Whether the complaint side continues to pull before the Federal Social Court was still open. (Sb)

Picture: Karin