Brandy Bottone (32) from Plano in Texas was stopped on the road on June 29, while she was driving in the public transport lane reserved for cars with at least two passengers.
The police officer looked into the car and asked if she was alone.
Bottone replied that there were two people in the car.
– Then he asked “Where is the other?”, Bottone says NBC.
– I pointed to my stomach and said «My girl is here. She is a person ».
The police officer replied that the rule applies to “two people outside the body”.
She was 34 weeks pregnant when she was stopped, pointing out that the Supreme Court’s controversial reversal of Roe v. Wade five days earlier means that her unborn child is now recognized as a person.
– I replied that “I’m not trying to be political here, but with everything that happens, this is considered a child”, Bottone says.
The police officer rejected the argument, but Bottone does not intend to pay the fine of 275 dollars. She believes that it is unreasonable for the authorities to treat a fetus as a person in one context, but not another.
Due to the Supreme Court ruling that in practice prohibits abortion, it may be that she has a good case.
– Judges may want to look at this differently. We are in unknown waters here. “There is no legal authority in Texas that determines what to do in this situation,” Dallas lawyer Chad Ruback told NBC.
The court will decide on this in a hearing around 20 July, which is approximately the same time as the birth is expected.
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