Texas tries to have it both ways: Lone Star State ticketed second pregnant woman for HOV lane drive, issued warrant for her arrest…after banning Kate Cox from abortion despite risky pregnancy with fetus that will die
A second pregnant Texas woman is suing after being ticketed for driving in an HOV lane — calling out the Lone Star State's apparent hypocrisy on abortion.
The woman, who did not want to be named, was alone in her car as she drove on the roadway. She protested that she was allowed to use the job because she was pregnant, but state officials in Texas now say her unborn baby does not count as a person.
That comes despite draconian laws against abortion – with a Texas appeals court even overturning a ruling that said mother Kate Cox could get an abortion because her unborn baby was suffering from a fatal disease – and carrying the fetus to term would make her infertile .
A Texas woman who wants to be called “Jacqueline” has been cited for being in HOV during her pregnancy but being told their unknown baby didn't count as a second person. She is the second woman known to have come forward to highlight the apparent hypocrisy of the Lone Star State
Brandy Bottone, 32, from Plano, Texas, gave birth to a baby girl in August 2022. She made headlines in June for trying to avoid a traffic ticket by claiming her unborn fetus was counted as a second passenger in the HOV lane.
Brandy Bottone successfully challenged the HOV rule after she was ticketed for driving a car while pregnant last year – and says other women are now turning to her for help.
'It does not make any sense; it's just whatever fits their agenda for the day,” Bottone said of Texas lawmakers.
An arrest warrant was even issued for a pregnant driver who decided she was going to fight the ticket.
“Other women have contacted me and said, 'I don't know what to do, this is too much for me. I'll just pay the fine,'” Bottone explained.
Bottone was pulled over because she appeared to be driving alone – she claims there were two people in the car… her and her unborn child
Brandy Bottone, from Texas, was ticketed for driving solo in an HOV lane. She fought the $215 ticket, saying her unborn child should count as a person. The citation was ultimately rejected
Bottone was ticketed in HOV Avenue on June 29 last year – five days after the US Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, the federal court ruling that guarantees women the right to abortion.
The decision of whether or not to allow abortion was left to the states.
A ban came into effect in Texas: all abortions were banned after six weeks, except when the mother's life was in danger.
There are no exceptions for rape or incest.
“In the state of Texas, we have significant limits on restricting abortion because the state of Texas protects the right to life,” U.S. Senator Ted Cruz (R) said when Roe v Wade was overturned last year.
Mother Kate Cox, 31, of Dallas, is carrying a baby diagnosed with a chromosomal abnormality that will almost certainly cause death before birth or soon after
After a judge ruled that Cox could have an abortion, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton threatened her doctors with legal action and appealed the decision.
Last week, Republican leaders in the state denied an abortion to Kate Cox, a Dallas woman who sought medical termination of her 20-week pregnancy after her doctor told her the baby would not survive and that carrying the child to term would make her infertile can make. .
Although a judge ruled that Cox could have an abortion, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton — the target of multiple criminal investigations and who was ousted earlier this year — threatened legal action against Cox's doctors.
Paxton appealed the judge's ruling to the Supreme Court, stating, “Nothing can restore the life of the unborn child that will be lost as a result,” the Supreme Court filing states.
The Supreme Court denied Cox an abortion, but by then she had already fled the state to an unknown location to terminate the pregnancy.
“It's amazing how much control a state, a country, can have over a woman,” Bottone added. “They don't tell men to get a vasectomy.”
The definition of “life” continues to be challenged in Texas as more and more pregnant women are stopped in HOV lanes, which require two people to be in the car.
After the US Supreme Court ruled last year that states could decide for themselves about abortion, a so-called trigger law came into effect in Texas that bans all abortions after six weeks, except when the mother's life was in danger.
Protesters march and gather near the Texas State Capitol in Austin following the Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe v. Wade on June 24, 2022.
Another mother who only wants to be identified as “Jacqueline” was pulled over on June 27 while driving in the HOV lane on Interstate 30 in Dallas.
“The first officer looked at me and said, 'Ma'am, there are two people in the car,'” she recalled.
'Yes, I'm pregnant; I am 32 weeks pregnant. I have two heartbeats in the car.'
The police gave her a ticket, but that's not what state law says.
“At this time, the use of HOV lanes by pregnant drivers is not specifically covered by state law,” the Texas Department of Public Safety told the Dallas Morning News.
Jacqueline decided to fight the ticket and went to court in July, when Dallas County Judge Thomas G. Jones offered her a lower fine if she pleaded guilty.
Dallas County Justice of the Peace Thomas G. Jones issued an arrest warrant for a pregnant woman cited for driving the HOV and missing a court hearing. Jones declined to comment
'No, but there are two people with me. I have two heartbeats. He didn't want anything to do with it. I don't want to plead guilty. I'm not guilty of this,” she explained.
She decided to take her case to court, and when the court announced her date, it was two days before her due date.
Jacqueline immediately notified the court clerk and persuaded them to give her a September date for a virtual court appearance.
Her healthy son was born in August, but what didn't arrive was a court date telling her when her next hearing was, she claims.
When she called Jone's court in October to ask why she had not received a hearing date, she was told she had missed her in-person hearing for September.
“She told me there was a warrant out for my arrest,” the new mother explained.
After she showed paperwork showing they had signed up for a virtual hearing, the warrant was revoked, but not her traffic ticket.
Jones' court has been in trouble before when it issued an unnecessary arrest warrant, according to a local resident exhaust reported.
The judge has already been punished three times by the state.
Jones did not respond to the Daily Mail's request for comment.
The court did offer to reduce the fine to $50 plus court costs, but Jacqueline insists on appearing in court.
“If you drive recklessly and kill a pregnant woman, you will be charged with manslaughter for two people in Texas, but if you drive an HOV, we are not two people.”
The new mother stands her ground, not for political reasons, but because she believes she is right.
“If you want to say something is that way, it has to be that way across the board, not just when it's convenient,” she said.