"Brandy Bottone, the Texas woman who said she had a right to the HOV
lane because her fetus counted as a second passenger, is at it again.

The 32-year-old from Plano was issued a second traffic citation in July
for riding solo in a high-occupancy lane, Claire Crouch, a spokeswoman
from the Dallas District Attorney's office, told NPR.

"It was about a month after the first ticket that she was pulled over
and ticketed again," Crouch said, adding that "the current case is pending."

Bottone's initial story attracted international attention.

After being questioned by Dallas County sheriff's deputies for appearing
to ride alone, Bottone pointed to her belly and told the officers, "My
baby girl is right here," she told the Dallas Morning News. By that
logic, she said, she hadn't violated the law, which requires at least
two passengers in a vehicle in an HOV lane.

At the time, she wasn't "trying to make a political statement," she
said. But, when the deputies looked at her blankly, she felt a need to
provide some context for them.

Following the U.S. Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade, and
under Texas' abortion laws, all abortions are banned except in
circumstances under which the birth would threaten the mother's life.
And under the state's fetal homicide laws, a fetus is considered to be a
person when determining whether a crime has been committed.

"Do you understand, with everything that's going on, this is a baby and
she's 34 weeks," she told the deputies.

A judge agreed with her, and the June ticket was dismissed.

It's unclear if the second violation will also be tossed out. But it may
be a while before Bottone can use it again. Crouch told NPR that, since
this latest incident, Bottone has given birth."

https://www.npr.org/2022/09/02/1120628973/pregnant-woman-dallas-fetus-hov-lane-passenger-ticket

TB

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