The Crazy Reason Why One Pregnant Woman Is In Trouble With The Police
One pregnant woman in Texas has found herself in trouble with the police for a crazy reason relating to driving in an HOV lane.
Earlier in the summer, a pregnant woman in Dallas made waves in the news. She had gotten pulled over for driving in the HOV lane without a passenger. But that’s not what made her story unique.
What makes Brandy Bottone stand out from others ticketed for HOV lane violations is what she told the police. When the police pulled her over, the visibly pregnant woman told the officer her fetus was her second passenger. The officer didn’t buy it and subsequently handed her a ticket.
Instead of paying the fine, Bottone hired an attorney and took her strange HOV lane case to the Dallas court system. According to Bottone, she never intended to make a political statement. Rather, she believed that, as a pregnant woman, she met the legal requirements for the commuting lane.
The reason behind Brandy Bottone’s rise to international news infamy extends far beyond her HOV lane shenanigans. The pregnant woman happened to get pulled over just days after the Supreme Court ruled on Roe v Wade. And in the wake of their ruling, Texas outlawed all abortions.
So, all eyes were on Texas when Bottone got her ticket. She told the officer that as a pregnant woman, she had a 34-week-old passenger. The teeny co-pilot that made her eligible for the HOV lane was just inside her instead of a car seat.
Texas fetal homicide laws consider a fetus a distinct person during criminal investigations. Due to this law, Bottone felt she was on firm legal ground when she took her case to court. Apparently, the judge agreed that the pregnant woman could drive in the HOV lane alone. The judge threw her ticket out.
But the impact of her story continues to reverberate across the nation. With the Supreme Court placing any abortion decisions back in the hands of the states, local debates are now raging. Some states had trigger laws ready to go, which allowed them to outlaw abortion (in part or in total) as soon as the decision came down. Others are in the middle of heated conversations surrounding how they will handle the matter. And an unsuspecting pregnant woman just trying to reach her destination via a faster HOV lane stepped right into the middle of the foray.
As for Brandy Bottone? The still pregnant woman took her success in court to mean she had permission to continue using the HOV lane. However, it appears local authorities have not kept up on pop culture news.
In July, Dallas police once again pulled over a pregnant woman driving alone in an HOV lane. It was Bottone. The officer issued a second citation for the exact same traffic offense.
This time, Bottone may not get off so easily. Her case is still pending in the courts. At least now, she is no longer a pregnant woman and can drive in the HOV lane to her heart’s content if her baby is along for the ride.
