And Baby Makes Two

Well, this escalated quickly...

Texas woman argues unborn baby counts as passenger after fine

Part of me hopes that the judge says "okay," and then slaps her with the fine for not having the child in a car seat. Absurdity in, absurdity out.

While its tempting to think that the only reason why this is a story is the Dobbs, State Health Officer of the Mississippi Department of Health, Et al. v. Jackson Women's Health Organization Et al. decision, this sort of thing happens all the time. It's part and parcel of living in a country where there are a) lots and lots of laws and b) lots and lots of people who are of the opinion that they only have to obey the laws that they agree with or when it doesn't cause them any inconvenience.

This isn't to say that everyone should follow every law, all of the time. That's pretty much been determined to be impossible; even if, by some mischance, someone happens to actually know all of them. Between municipal, county, state and federal laws, no-one could commit all of them to memory. And there are some pointless, or even counterproductive, laws out there. But there should be an understanding that in a system where it's possible (even though it may take a lot of work) to change the laws, that being caught flouting them should come with a penalty, and one should accept that, and move on. Ms. Bottone is having her moment in the sun, and she'll likely continue to raise a stink if the judge rules against her and makes her pay the ticket, and for what? Principle?

But then again, when this sort of behavior is par for the course for the people making the rules, it's unsurprising that other people jump on the bandwagon.