TALLAHASSEE,Fla.- A lawsuit has been filed challenging a new Florida law that allows pregnant women to use parking spaces reserved for individuals with disabilities, sparking debate over accessibility and equity. The suit alleges the law jeopardizes parking access for people with genuine mobility limitations.
The law, championed by state Rep. Erin mcfarland,was intended to provide convenient parking for pregnant women experiencing discomfort,notably in later stages of pregnancy. McFarland stated she “just really wanted to be able to park in a convenient location…and I wanted that for other women, too.” She clarified she did not intend to displace parking for “handicapped people who truly have a physical limit in their mobility,” but to “help moms.”
Though, advocates for people with disabilities argue the law misconstrues pregnancy as a disability and creates unfair competition for limited accessible parking. Amy Keller,a plaintiff in the lawsuit,stated,”Pregnancy is uncomfortable. I get that. But thes are not comparable things…People having a heat stroke is not comparable to you being hot and uncomfortable…I’m sorry. It’s Florida. We’re all hot and uncomfortable. But these are not the same things. You are putting people in danger because of your inconvenience.”
Federal law does not classify pregnancy as a disability, though it is indeed protected under discrimination statutes. Women with “complicated pregnancies” can already obtain disabled-parking permits with a doctor’s recommendation, Keller noted.
The lawsuit names the state’s Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles department and its secretary, Dave Kerner, as defendants. The number of pregnant women who have applied for and received the permits is currently unknown, though the program is actively promoted on county tax collector websites, including Miami-Dade County, which advises, “Talk to your physician to get started and make parking a little easier during your pregnancy!”
Keller suggested lawmakers could designate separate parking spaces for expectant mothers without impacting existing disabled parking. “It’s not us hating on pregnant women,” she said. “I don’t care if you want to do separate, expectant mother spaces. Take it out of the other 98 percent of parking that isn’t accessible to me.”
McFarland indicated a willingness to review data on the law’s impact,stating,”If the passage of this law has negatively impacted any community and there’s data that shows it,I would love to see that data so I can make more informed laws.”
