A pregnant Texas woman arrested for using the carpool lane tried to get out of her ticket by arguing that her unborn child was a passenger due to the overturning of Roe v. Wade.
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Brandi Bottone was arrested on a road in Dallas, in a lane reserved for two passengers in a car.
When asked by the agent if she was alone, the young woman unhesitatingly replied, “No, we are both,” pointing to her stomach and saying, “The girl is right there.”
However, the police officer argued that they must have been two people outside the body, the “Dallas Morning News” reported.
While state penal code recognizes a fetus as a person, the Texas Traffic Code does not.
“I was chased by an officer when I mentioned that it was a live baby, which was consistent with everything that was going on with Roe v. Wade. I told him: ‘I don’t know why you haven’t seen it,'” she explained to the daily.
The mother-to-be was fined $215, which she intends to challenge in court in a few days.
“My blood boils. How does that work out? According to the new law, it is a life,” he said. “I know this is going to fall on deaf ears, but as a woman it was shocking.”
A lawyer says Ms Bottone’s case could take the state into “uncharted territory”.
“I find his argument constructive, but based on the current iteration of the Texas Traffic Code, I don’t think his argument has a chance of success in an appellate court,” Chad Ruback told the “Washington Post.” “That said, it’s entirely possible to find a trial judge who will reward her for her creativity.”
“This is a very unique situation in the American judiciary,” he said.
