And Baby Makes Three

Ken AshfordWomen's IssuesLeave a Comment

Like most states, the State of Virginia has "High Occupancy Vehicle Lanes", better known as "carpool lanes".  These are lanes which are open only to cars which have a certain minimum number of passengers.  To drive on an HOV-3 lane, the car must have at least three occupants.

Pregdriver_1Recently, a woman in Virginia was ticketed for improperly driving on an HOV-3 lane (sorry, I lost the link).  Her defense?  There were three in her car:  (1) herself, (2) her child in the backseat, and (3) her unborn baby.

This raised the question as to whether an unborn baby is a "person".  The ears of anti-choice advocates pricked up (which is why the story became national).

Well, the Virginia Department of Transporation weighs in.  From their HOV FAQ website:

I’m pregnant. Do I count as one person or two?

In HOV world, you’re one person.  However, babies of any age count as a person.

Not to worry, anti-choice advocates.  That’s in "HOV world".  As for the real world, VDOT ain’t touchin’ that.