After being cited for driving alone in a high-occupancy vehicle (HOV) lane, a pregnant woman in Texas told officers that her unborn baby is considered an additional passenger, offering a conceivably smart defense for drivers trying to navigate the legal environment just after the Supreme Court’s decision to strike down country wide abortion rights last month.
Brandy Bottone of Plano, Texas, argued that her unborn baby must count as her 2nd passenger in trying to battle a ticket for driving just with one passenger in an HOV lane, which requires a minimum of two people in the vehicle.
“One officer kind of brushed me off when I mentioned this is a living child, according to everything that’s going on with the overturning of Roe v Wade,” Bottone told the cop, referring to the landmark 1973 supreme court case that granted federal abortion rights. “‘So I don’t know why you’re not seeing that,’ I said.”
The officer informed Bottone that in order to drive in the HOV lane, her second passenger had to be outside her body.
Bottone was eventually issued a $275 penalty, with the officer advising her that if she disputed the citation in court, it would most likely be dismissed.
“This has my blood boiling. How could this be fair? According to the new law, this is a life,” Bottone said to the Morning News. “I know this may fall on deaf ears, but as a woman, this was shocking.”
According to the Dallas Morning News, Bottone was pulled over by an officer with the Dallas County Sheriff’s Department who is contracted by the Texas Department of Transportation to police HOV laws on US 75.
While the Texas penal code acknowledges an unborn infant as a person, the state’s existing transport legislation does not.
Brandy Bottone says her fetus is considered a human being. She tells this to sheriff’s deputies giving HOV lane violation tickets. Them: So sad, too bad. Her: “I don’t think it’s right. One law says it’s one way, and another law says it's another way.” https://t.co/dUNfCNeoes pic.twitter.com/Gcr6TJWeIS
— Dave Lieber, CSP (@DaveLieber) July 9, 2022
