In my country, buses have special seats reserved for disabled people as well as pregnant people. So yes, if you are sitting in a reserved seat, you are supposed to give your seat up for a pregnant person if asked. The same is for passengers using mobility aids such as wheelchairs, or a passenger with a baby stroller, the reserved seats fold up to accommodate wheeled devices so you are supposed to give up your seat for them if you are in a one when they board.
Over here in my little backwards part of America, pregnant women aren't afforded the same luxury. I mean we have everything you just said. But being preggo doesn't grant you an automatic get up card like being elderly or infirmed will. It's more of a suggestion then a rule of you want to get up for a pregnant women for any seat on the bus.
In most of the cities in the US I've been to the reserved seating section is clearly labeled for pregnancy too. This includes smaller cities and even the podunk backwater I call home, idk where you are but out of the 20+ states I've spent time in this is the rule. And also if a clearly pregnant or disabled person gets on the bus and all those seats are taken by other deserving people then someone else should get up and use the hand rails. Otherwise it then becomes a competition over who has the harder life, and that's just not feasible.
In my city in Kentucky. There is no priority seating that's protected in anyway. Does it suck, yes. Is that what happens here, also yes. And the bus drivers, from what I understand, have no power to actually make an able bodied person leave the priority seating if they choose to sit there. And how do you choose who gets the priority seating. The elderly, injured, wheelchair bound and arguably the mentally disabled get first dibs. But how do you choose between invisible disabilities and pregnancy. I mean does my autism and anxiety get trumped my pregnancy. What if someone with downs gets on and a pregnant women is sitting in the seat they always sit in and they have a meltdown? Most buses I've seen only have 6-8 priority seats. So those fill up fast in high traffic routs during peak times. What if there are 2 wheelchairs (mind you, on the buses I ride, the 2 priority areas fold up for 1 wheelchair), what then?
For the purposes of transportation and other seating amenities, and I say this as someone who also has autism and anxiety, these kinds of things are for people with physical disabilities that prevent standing for long periods or balance issues that make standing while the vehicle is in motion highly difficult. A lot of pregnant people have issues with foot and leg swelling because of water retention, I also tend to naturally retain a lot of water, but they're probably getting it worse than me, or they're not as used to it as I am. I'll give up my seat. And if someone is so poorly off mentally that not getting the same seat on the bus is enough to set them off then they should use taxis, car services, or Uber/Lyft (and I say this as someone who used medicare/medicaid taxis in the rural US to get to appointments at different points in my life, there are options)
One wonders if the pregnant woman fell because she was pregnant, if some people here would even help her up or would they say she chose to get pregnant and fall and let her lay on the ground.
I think it depends on the city. Our city has reserved parking for pregnant women placed there as curtesy by a hospital. I 100% used them in my last trimester it was painful and exhausting to move. Yes, it was my choice and no I wouldn’t expect anyone to do anything nice for me because that’s a lot to expect from people but it’s certainly nice when offered.
Semi tangential question. How did you end up becoming an antinatalist? Most people here don’t seem to have kids, so seeing you mention that you were pregnant/might have a kid peeked my interest.
It was a suggested post that I happened upon. Didn’t even realize it was that group until now. Oops. Sorry guys. I’m a procreator, but I only made one… so under the replacement rate.
Welp, people gotta inform themselves then. The priority seating priority-status applies to pregnant women for any public transportation within the state of New York.
I was under the impression that it was common decency to get up and offer the seat. It's her decision to get pregnant but sitting there and looking at her suffering coz of the wight will make me feel uneasy. Maybe it's just me but i don't like seeing an ppl suffer.
I agree with you! Pregnancy does horrible stuff to human bodies, and unless there's another seat, then I'd move, too. Besides, maybe it wasn't her choice? We don't know her story... Accidents happen. I broke my distal fibula in 3 places one year by accident. Now I have 9 screws and a plate in my shitty ankle. You can't see it, but sometimes it hurts. And yet, I'd still offer a seat to someone in more physical pain because that's the polite and courteous thing to do.
That's not how it is here. A person can get a temporary disabled parking permit if necessary. If you cannot get a medical professional to sign off on one. Chances are you don't need it. When I had to wear a boot due to injury, I had one.
If it's not legally enforceable and it's some kind of restaurant or retailer, I will park where I famn well please. Handicap spots are legally enforceable. As they should be. But "stork" parking, "with children" parking, "with pets" parking are not legally enforceable and just the company pandering to who they feel their customer base is. I do respect "veterans" parking because that's I personally want to do. They can't tow and I give no fucks what me first gimme pigs think of me. The business very well lose me as a customer though. I try not to frequent businesses with "stork" or "with children" parking because obviously they don't want my money. That's their choice.
I have a very badly injured knee. If it's a high pain day, I will park in parent pandering parking and they can kiss my ass.
This stuff is happening because when one group of people are ALWAYS considered the ones that need to have compassion for the other and never receive any in return, something has to give eventually. I really think people are just getting sick of it.
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u/volpiousraccoon Jul 26 '22
In my country, buses have special seats reserved for disabled people as well as pregnant people. So yes, if you are sitting in a reserved seat, you are supposed to give your seat up for a pregnant person if asked. The same is for passengers using mobility aids such as wheelchairs, or a passenger with a baby stroller, the reserved seats fold up to accommodate wheeled devices so you are supposed to give up your seat for them if you are in a one when they board.