Brandi Bottone, 32, of Plano, Texas, was recently blessed to give birth to a beautiful baby girl. In the weeks leading up to her daughter's birth, however, she had a few run-ins with the Texas highway patrol.
The last time she was pulled over for driving in the carpool lane, where vehicles are required to carry more than one person. Bottone was asked, "Is there anyone else riding in the car with you?"
"My baby girl is right here," Bottone responded. "She is a living person."
Both traffic tickets (each in the amount of $275) were not the result of any sort of pre-planned statement on her part, according to Bottone. "I just needed to get where I needed to go," she explained to the Dallas Morning News. Bottone's first ticket was dismissed without a court hearing; she's still waiting to hear about the second ticket.
It's no surprise that in these times, with the recent reversal of Roe v. Wade, which has led to a public discourse as to when life begins, Bottone's case has caught a lot of attention from the media and other sources.
Sadly, a woman claiming to be a relative of Bottone's set up a fraudulent GoFundMe account in her name. When Bottone learned of it, she complained to the crowdsourcing website and the fraudulent account was quickly shut down. Bottone's family then set up a new GoFundMe page, where 100% of the proceeds benefit Genesis House, a women's shelter.
"You make me proud to be a Texan," one supporter wrote on the crowdfunding page recently. Another said: "Thanks for pushing back." The family's effort has raised over $2,500 as of publication date, and is still accepting donations.
