Brandy Bottone, aged 32, was driving the HOV lane, or high-occupancy vehicle lane meant for at least 2 people per vehicle in Texas when she was pulled over by the police. The officer noted that there was only one person in sight, but Bottone had an excuse, that she was 34 weeks pregnant with her unborn daughter. Although the penal code in Texas recognizes a fetus as a person, it appears no rule in the state Transportation Department’s code recognizes a fetus as a person or a passenger.
When Bottone said that her unborn daughter should count, the officer responded simply by saying the rule applies to “two passengers outside the body.” Bottone told the officer that with the overturning of Roe v. Wade, her unborn child was now recognized as a living person. The U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade on June 24. “I was like, ‘Uh, this!'” pointing to her belly. “I was like, ‘Right here, here she is.’ He just looked at me, ‘How do I answer this?'” Bottone recalled to the Dallas Morning News, which was the first to report the story.
Bottone protested, but deputies still gave her a $215 traffic ticket for HOV lane violations. Bottone plans to fight the ticket. “‘Ma’am, it’s two people outside of the body,’ which is a weird way of wording it,” she recalled the officer telling her at the time. The Texas Department of Transportation’s online description of the HOV rule isn’t entirely clear either. It reads simply, “A vehicle occupied by two or more people.”
“If we’re talking about a fetus being a person, there’s a lot of other rights that attach to being a person that will be litigated in the courts, such as, does my fetus qualify for a tax deduction? Does my fetus qualify for citizenship? Does my fetus qualify for child support?” she said. “These are all issues that are going to be raised and probably litigated in the courts.”
Representatives for the sheriff’s department and the state Transportation Department didn’t immediately respond. “This has my blood boiling. How could this be fair? According to the new law, this is a life,” Bottone told The Morning News. “I know this may fall on deaf ears, but as a woman, this was shocking.”
Citations
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/pregnant-texas-woman-says-unborn-baby-count-car-passenger-receiving-ho-rcna37531
https://www.cnn.com/2022/07/11/us/pregnant-woman-hov-lane/index.html
When Bottone said that her unborn daughter should count, the officer responded simply by saying the rule applies to “two passengers outside the body.” Bottone told the officer that with the overturning of Roe v. Wade, her unborn child was now recognized as a living person. The U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade on June 24. “I was like, ‘Uh, this!'” pointing to her belly. “I was like, ‘Right here, here she is.’ He just looked at me, ‘How do I answer this?'” Bottone recalled to the Dallas Morning News, which was the first to report the story.
Bottone protested, but deputies still gave her a $215 traffic ticket for HOV lane violations. Bottone plans to fight the ticket. “‘Ma’am, it’s two people outside of the body,’ which is a weird way of wording it,” she recalled the officer telling her at the time. The Texas Department of Transportation’s online description of the HOV rule isn’t entirely clear either. It reads simply, “A vehicle occupied by two or more people.”
“If we’re talking about a fetus being a person, there’s a lot of other rights that attach to being a person that will be litigated in the courts, such as, does my fetus qualify for a tax deduction? Does my fetus qualify for citizenship? Does my fetus qualify for child support?” she said. “These are all issues that are going to be raised and probably litigated in the courts.”
Representatives for the sheriff’s department and the state Transportation Department didn’t immediately respond. “This has my blood boiling. How could this be fair? According to the new law, this is a life,” Bottone told The Morning News. “I know this may fall on deaf ears, but as a woman, this was shocking.”
Citations
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/pregnant-texas-woman-says-unborn-baby-count-car-passenger-receiving-ho-rcna37531
https://www.cnn.com/2022/07/11/us/pregnant-woman-hov-lane/index.html
