Roe Reversal: Texas Woman Fights Traffic Ticket, Says Her Unborn Child Should Be Counted As Person

A woman in Texas, the United States, used the reversal of Roe v Wade to argue that the foetus inside her should be treated as a person, while arguing against a ticket issued by a traffic policeman for driving in the car-pool lane.

Ms Bottone was 34 weeks into her pregnancy. Brandy Bottone was travelling on US Highway 75 to the Interstate 635 West interchange on June 29 when she was given the parking ticket, according to a report in The Dallas Morning News.

Ms Bottone, from Plano, told the policeman that she is carrying "a life" but the cop was not ready to buy the argument. The woman was 34 weeks into her pregnancy.

"I was driving to pick up my son. I knew I couldn't be a minute late, so I took the HOV (high-occupancy vehicle) lane. As I exited the HOV, there was a checkpoint at the end of the exit. I slammed on my brakes, and I was pulled over by police," she told The Dallas Morning News.

"An officer peeked in and asked 'Is there anybody else in the car?' I pointed to my stomach and said, my baby girl is right here. She is a person. He said, 'Oh, no. It's got to be two people outside of the body'," she added.

The officer was not impressed, according to the report, stating, "I don't want to deal with this." Ms Bottone was issued a $215 penalty, but another officer advised her that "if you fight it, it will most likely get dropped."

"This has my blood boiling. How could this be fair? According to the new law, this is a life. I know this may fall on deaf ears, but as a woman, this was shocking," she further added.

The Dallas County Sheriff's Department was in charge of this operation. Representative Raul Reyna informed Ms Bottone that it is not a checkpoint because not every driver is stopped. Only vehicles with one occupant are stopped. HOV regulations need two passengers, the outlet further reported.

According to Texas penal code, an unborn child is recognised as a person, but not in the state's transportation code, said The Daily Beast.

The woman is not giving up and is fighting the ticket in court on July 20, the outlet further said.