Texas GOP Rep Vows To Codify Pregnancy/HOV Rule

Dallas’s NBC affiliate reports:

A pregnant Plano woman who got a ticket for driving alone in an HOV lane plans to fight the citation, arguing her unborn baby should count as a second person.

The woman, Brandy Bottone, was driving down Central Expressway approaching the exit for I-635 when she was stopped at a sheriff’s checkpoint targeting HOV drivers breaking the rules. By law, in order to use the high-occupancy vehicle lanes, drivers must have at least one passenger in the vehicle.

Bottone said laws should be consistent in how they define a person. “I really don’t think it’s right because one law is saying it one way but another law is saying it another way,” she said.

Read the full article.

Texas GOP Rep. Brian Harrison, the former owner of a dog breeding outfit called Dallas Labradoodles, coordinated the HHS response to COVID during the Trump administration. After being elected to the Texas legislature, he advocated against mask and vaccine mandates.

Unborn babies are persons (meaning they’re also passengers), and should be treated accordingly under Texas laws. Will introduce legislation to clarify this. Brandy, keep fighting that ticket! #txlege https://t.co/ibs7cZl4vd

— Brian Harrison (@brianeharrison) July 10, 2022