“Why can't laws speak in equal manners? I mean, I'm happy to be that person to bring up the conversation. Not that I meant to," Brandy Bottone told Inside Edition Digital.
The now-famed pregnant Texas woman ticketed for driving in a high-occupancy vehicle (HOV) told Inside Edition Digital that she may be waiting from two weeks to six months to fight her ticket in court.
Brandy Bottone, who was 34 weeks pregnant at the time, was picking up her son on June 29 when she pulled into a two-person HOV lane in Dallas. An officer from the Dallas County Sheriff's Office pulled her over at a checkpoint and inquired about her second passenger.
When the officer asked about her other person, Bottone told Inside Edition Digital that she pointed to her baby bump and said “right here.” Bottone said the officer responded by saying the rule meant “two bodies outside of the body.”
Bottone said she told the officer, “I’m not trying to make a big political stance here, but do you realize that she's 34 weeks? She's definitely a baby. She's jabbing me in my ribs."
The officer told Bottone to speak to a second officer who went on to tell her that “it’ll probably get dismissed” if she tried to fight the citation, she said. This officer printed her out a $275 ticket.
Bottone told Inside Edition Digital that she has driven in HOV lanes when she was pregnant with her other children but this was the first time she was stopped. She said she used the lane to lessen the chances of car wrecks when roads are congested.
“It wasn't in light of everything that was going on. That's not even where my head was at. I was just seeing the sign that says two and counted two, and I drove on,” Bottone said.
Bottone told Inside Edition Digital that she has obtained lawyers and intends to challenge the ticket.
Although the state's transportation code does not specify, Texas' penal code recognizes an unborn child as a person, according to Inside Edition Digital.
“Why can't laws speak in equal manners? I mean, I'm happy to be that person to bring up the conversation. Not that I meant to, but I'm happy to be that person and be that voice for both sides, and bring everybody together to have a civil conversation,” Bottone said.
When asked about her views on the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, Bottone chose not to comment. Though in a report from "Good Morning America," the outlet reported that she described herself as “pro-women,” saying that she believes it is up to the woman to decide what to do with their bodies.
