Pregnant Woman Ticketed--and Insulted

When 25-year-old Adel Charles drove herself to her last pre-birth check-up, she crossed and fingers and hoped for everything to go smoothly. When the mom-to-be left her clinic, she got bad news of a completely different kind. According to Scotland’s This Is Croydon Today, the police officer writing her a ticket saw her coming out of the clinic but gave her the ticket, saying she should’ve “waddled faster.”

The mother of one thought her appointment might take about 20 minutes, but on the off chance that her doctor’s appointment ran late, she put a full hour on the meter. Charles left the clinic just four minutes after her meter ran out and saw a police officer writing her a ticket. She pleaded with him to not give her the ticket, saying, “You could see me waddling as fast as I could.” The officer responded, “Well, you should’ve waddled faster,” laughed and drove off on his moped. The mother told the newspaper that his harsh words following some bad news about her baby’s health brought her to tears.

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In Charles’ part of Scotland, drivers are typically allowed a five-minute grace period once the meter expires. She hopes to appeal the £30-ticket but knows that only 0.2 of these cases get overturned.

What was the most insulting thing someone said or did to you while you were pregnant? Do you think pregnant women should be afforded a little extra courtesy?