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Pregnant Woman Cites Texas Abortion Law to Fight Traffic Ticket
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Given the state's restriction on abortions, a pregnant lady in Texas attempted to get out of getting a traffic citation for driving alone in a high-occupancy vehicle lane by claiming that her unborn child counts as a second person.
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On June 29, she was pulled up by a patrol officer for failing to comply with the requirement that there be at least one other passenger in the driver's car when using the HOV lane.
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After Roe v. Wade was overturned last month, Bottone contended that her unborn child counts as a second person, citing the Texas abortion law.
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After being temporarily overturned by a lower court ruling, the Texas Supreme Court last week issued an order permitting the state to enforce an abortion prohibition from 1925.
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Because of pre-Roe provisions still in their statute books, 13 states, including Texas, are now able to implement trigger laws, which allow them to restrict or outright ban abortions.
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In response to the officer's assertion that her unborn child is not considered, she said: "Well, I'm not trying to be political here, but with everything going on, this counts as a baby."
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She was told repeatedly by the police that in order to utilise the HOV lane, she had to be accompanied by someone else.
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After Bottone's reasoning was rejected by the officer with the Dallas County Sheriff's Department, she was issued a $275 ticket, which she intends to contest in court.
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Although Texas's transportation law does not recognise an unborn child as a person, the state's penal code does, creating a legal ambiguity that state courts have not yet addressed.
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According to Dallas appellate lawyer Chad Ruback, various judges can view this differently. We are currently in unexplored terrain. There is no Texas law that specifies what should be done in this circumstance.
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