A newly proposed bill in the Arizona House of Representatives would allow pregnant women to drive solo in the HOV lane. But the bill is causing controversy because of the broader message it sends about abortion.
On the surface, House Bill 2417 is straightforward. Matt Gress (Republican, 4th District), who introduced it, says it will give pregnant women the right to use the HOV lane without another passenger in the vehicle.
"The idea is helping expecting mothers get to where they need to get to in a fast, safe way," Gress said.
Gress says he got the idea from a real case in Texas where a woman, who was eight months pregnant, was pulled over and given a ticket for driving in the HOV lane by herself, despite the woman's claim to the officer that she was driving for two people.
Gress says he expected backlash, as the bill speaks to the larger abortion issue of whether or not life begins at conception.
"Certainly, I'm suggesting that there are two lives in the car. I think that an expecting mom and her pre-born child have the right to be in the HOV lane. There are a number of precedents we have on the books related to treating an expecting mother and her child as two people."
Amy Fitch-Heacock is an abortion rights advocate, executive board member, and communications director for Arizonans for Reproductive Freedom.
"I think, to be frank, it's a waste of time," Fitch-Heacock said about HB 2417. "We're talking about a governor that made it very clear that legislation like this is not going to make it past her desk. So it's really bothersome for someone like me who recognizes that there are actual problems in the state of Arizona, to look at my elected officials and think why are you wasting time and taxpayer money on something that absolutely has no chance of becoming a law."
There's also the question of how law enforcement would be able to tell that a woman appearing to ride alone in the HOV lane, is actually expecting. Gress says the woman's doctor can issue her documents to drive in the HOV lane, much like a disabled designation.
"A placard," Gress said. "A special placard would be issued that she could put on her rear-view mirror in the HOV lane."
Fitch-Heacock says HB 2417 it's nothing more than a GOP distraction.
"It's unneeded. It's just another ploy. It's just another way for them to dictate the conversation and steer away from the actual issues we have here in Arizona. It's a different era in Arizona, and I think the voters really spoke to what we want when we went to the polls in November. I think the Republican legislators that are wasting time on this should remember that," she said.
HB 2417 is cosponsored by Majority Whip Teresa Martinez and currently waiting to be assigned to a committee.
