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Everyone's been talking about how a New York City councilman plans to introduce legislation next week that would grant special parking privileges to some pregnant women. “New York is a tough place to get around," said Councilman David Greenfield (D-Brooklyn) told New York Daily News. "If you have a difficult pregnancy, it's even tougher. This should make it a little bit easier."
My first thought was, “Cool.” After all, in California where I live, all of the Babies R Us stores have special “stork parking” for the expecting crowd. So you can imagine my surprise to find that there is no shortage of folks who are outraged over the idea of a free-parking perk for pregos. Opponents insist that the special permits are only inviting abuse (so clearly the only response is to not have them at all), that they discriminate against men (ahem, really?), and that offering such an exotic and outlandish benefit might actually cause a spike in pregnancies. (Well, I wasn’t going to have any kids, but then I heard about the free parking!) “Walking during pregnancy is healthy,” one enraged reader commented on the New York Daily News website. “If a woman is too disabled to do so, she shouldn’t be driving either.”
Look, I agree that perhaps a busy councilman might be able to find more urgent causes to champion. But why so much animosity? Pregnancy can be a miserable, uncomfortable ride and I appreciate anyone who endeavors to make it more bearable. The funniest bit about the stork-parking idea is that if you think it’s tough navigating city streets with a titanic tummy, just wait until you’re carting around a newborn and all of her copious gear (stroller, carseat, bottles, wipes and the like), or trying to wrangle two or more toddlers at the same time. Sadly, I doubt a free-parking-for-breeders bill would get any love.
What do you think about special parking privileges for pregnant women? Chime in below!
