Mom-To-Be Calls Unborn A Passenger

Most major cities have what is called the HOV (High Occupancy Vehicle) lane on their highways/freeways. The HOV lane, as you probably know, is that extra lane or two of the road that you can drive in if you are carrying 2 or more people in your car. Originally, the HOV lane was invented to help encourage people to car pull, thus cutting down on all those nasty polluting exhaust fumes and saving the earth's ozone layer...a little. Of course most people see the HOV lane as the lane you can drive really fast in, blowing by all those slow bastards stuck in bumper to bumper traffic next to you. It's only natural that you take advantage of the HOV lane whenever possible. Some people take advantage of the HOV lane by cheating a little, like having a blowup doll ride shotgun. However one Mommy-to-be took a rather unique approach to getting herself in the HOV lane and here is her story.

A pregnant woman, who was ticketed for driving in the carpool lane, will have her day in court next month to argue that her unborn child counts as a second person in the car. 23-year-old Candace Dickinson stated "I understand the reasoning for the HOV lane, but whether my son is in a car seat versus in my stomach, I don’t get it. It’s the same thing." The near-full-term Ahwatukee Foothills woman was driving to work, on Interstate 10 near Interstate 17 at 6AM last week, when a Phoenix police officer pulled her over. The officer asked how many people were in the car. The driver answered "two". The officer said "no, one". The woman went on to explain that she was 9 months pregnant and she had her son in the car with her. The way the law is written, he can occupy the vehicle without occupying a seat. Officer Frank Valenzuela, spokesman for the Arizona Department of Public Safety, said this is not a common occurrence on Valley freeways. He said the law’s intent is not to include pregnant women, but to increase vehicle occupancy to conserve fuel and reduce traffic. Hmm, maybe that law should be rewritten to include pregnant woman then?

So does the pregnant woman have a valid point, a reasonable argument for using the HOV lane? That is what a court will need to decide. Much like the debate of whether a fetus is a living being or not when it comes to abortion issues, this story also teeters on the edge of controversy. Personally, I feel the baby is very much alive and counts as a human being. It has life, that is evident thru ultrasounds and sonograms. Sure the baby may not actually be born yet, but it's in this world just the same if you ask me. I don't care if the baby is in her womb or in a car seat, it's still a baby and counts as occupant #2 in the car. So if you ask me, this woman had every right to use the HOV lane. It may be a technicality and something not everyone has thought about before, but when you do stop and think, it makes sense. I hope this woman wins her court case. I would say she is one smart Mamma!