Pearl Jam Star Backs Bathroom Law

Pearl Jam rocker Mike McCready is lending his star power to a new bill calling for emergency access to toilets for sufferers of Crohn's disease.The guitarist - who himself has been diagnosed with the painful gastrointestinal disorder - testified before a legal committee in Washington on Thursday (29Jan09) in a bid to convince state legislators to allow patients with the condition to use shops' private restrooms.McCready claimed there are several businesses he now refuses to patronise after they refused him permission to use an employee toilet, causing "hundreds" of accidents over the last 20 years.But while he acknowledged the illness has caused him embarrassment, he urged officials to remember the devastating humiliation younger people who have similar disorders must endure.He said: "I'm 42 years old. I'm doing fine. But when you're 13 or 14 and you're going through those years with the shame and indignation - it's embarrassing..."Imagine the worst diarrhoea you've ever had and then times it by 10, with a knife in it. You have maybe a half a second to find out where a bathroom is."