Pregnant woman disputes carpool fine saying unborn child counts as person after Roe v Wade

12 July 2022, 23:22 | Updated: 12 July 2022, 23:25

A pregnant woman in the US who received a fine for driving alone in a carpool lane is arguing that her unborn child counts as a passenger after the Supreme Court's abortion ruling.

The overturning of the landmark Roe v Wade triggered a law in Texas that says an unborn child is a living human from the moment of fertilisation.

Brandy Bottone, who is eight months pregnant, was stopped whilst driving alone in a carpool lane five days after the ruling.

She says she pointed to her baby bump and said: "Well, not trying to throw a political mix here, but with everything going on, this counts as a baby."

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Ms Bottone did not reveal her thoughts on the ruling, but said she believed it should be applied consistently.

"One law is saying that this is a baby and now he's telling me this baby that's jabbing my ribs is not a baby," said the 32-year-old.

She added: "If there's a pro-women category, that's my stance."

She is challenging the ticket in court next week.

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Chad Ruback, an attorney in Dallas, told the Washington Post he did not expect her argument to be successful but added she "could find a trial court judge who would award her for her creativity".

Republican state representative Brian Harrison said he plans to introduce legislation to clarify that unborn babies should be treated as passengers.

"Unborn babies are persons (meaning they're also passengers), and should be treated accordingly under Texas laws," he wrote on Twitter.

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The US Supreme Court voted to overturn Roe v Wade, a landmark case that gave women across America the federal right to abortion in the first trimester, in June.

Overthrowing the ruling gave states the freedom to ban abortions before 12 weeks if they wish.

Some states including Texas, Alabama, South Dakota and Wisconsin had trigger laws which came into force as soon as the decision was made.

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Ultimately, the court's overturning of the landmark ruling is likely to lead to abortion bans in roughly half the states.

Of these, 13 outlawed abortion instantly.