Texas: to avoid a fine, she considers her fetus as a second passenger

Illustrative image: Cars head south on Interstate 45 in Houston, Texas.

AP - Justin Rex

Text by: RFI Follow

1 min

On the sidelines of the end of the right to abortion in more than half of the American states (26), absurd situations.

According to the Supreme Court, which quashed Roe vs. Wade, life begins at conception, not the first breath.

Does a pregnant woman count as one person or two?

Story of a roadside check that went off the rails. 

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With our correspondent in Houston, 

Brandy Bottone drives down the freeway in Plano, north of Dallas.

Late to pick up her son, she takes the fast lane reserved for carpooling or vehicles with at least two passengers.

She is arrested by the police and the officer asks her if she is really alone in her vehicle.

She replies, “

of us  ,” pointing to her protruding belly. “

 ,” she insists.

Brandy Bottone is 34 weeks pregnant.

For the policeman, the second passenger must be outside the body of the driver.

He therefore gives him a fine of 275 dollars.

In Texas, since

, an "unborn child" is recognized as a person in the law, but this is not yet the case in the law of the road.

Brandy Bottone does not intend to stop there.

She decided to challenge her fine in court.

Double standards, according to the motorist fined, but also a reflection of the legal chaos generated by the decision of the Supreme Court.

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• United States

• Womens rights