House Bill 521, introduced by Texas Republican Briscoe Cain, allows a pregnant driver to use high occupancy vehicle (HOV) lanes. The bill follows an incident where a woman was pulled over in Dallas, telling authorities her unborn child should be counted as the second individual. Upon being pulled over, the woman appealed to the overturn of Roe v. Wade to support her argument that the unborn should be seen as a second person in HOV lanes.
From The Daily Wire:
The bill’s text states, “An operator of a motor vehicle who is pregnant is entitled to use any high occupancy vehicle lane in this state regardless of whether the vehicle is occupied by a passenger other than the operator’s unborn child.” It is unclear how police would be expected to enforce the law. ... Even if the bill does pass, it will not guarantee fetal personhood in the state. Texas proposed a fetal personhood bill in 2021 that would include implications regarding the treatment of frozen embryos used as part of in vitro fertilization procedures. With strong Republican wins in the state legislature across Texas during this month’s election, House Bill 521 has a reasonable chance of passing as part of showing strong support for pro-life legislation in the state. Texas has already passed a fetal heartbeat bill that bans most abortions after about six weeks of pregnancy.
