On Tue 31 Mar 2009 02:35:28p, Pennyaline told us...

> Dan Abel wrote:
>> In article >,
>> Kathleen > wrote:
>>
>>
>>> And that's great. But not every pregnancy is easy. I had horrible
>>> sciatica in the third trimester with both of my pregnancies. Walking
>>> more than a few steps felt like having lightning run to ground through
>>> my right leg. I mostly tried not to shop at all - my husband really
>>> stepped up - but when I absolutely had to, I was incredibly grateful
for
>>> things like preferential parking, and the option of having the bagger
at
>>> the grocery store help me load my purchases into the van.
>>
>> That's why they have handicapped spots. Did you ask your doctor for a
>> handicapped placard?
>
> Pregnancy isn't a disability unless there's a medical condition during
> or related to it that doesn't allow the pregnant woman to work.
> Pregnancy is a generally obvious condition with generally obvious
> effects, the most obvious of which is the significant growth of a second
> person inside the body of the first. There are both advantages and
> disadvantages to that, and it is usually during the third trimester that
> the disadvantages become the most pressing. I've always believed that
> widely held beliefs and mythologies about pregnancy and childbirth would
> vanish instantly if men were also expected to carry pregnancies
> uncomplainingly to term.
>
> But seriously, Dan, you are either winding us up or the most unfeeling
> person in the group.
>

Many women are unhindered by their pregnancies and continue to work right
up until the last several days before giving birth. AFAIC, if they can
work and move about in an office complex with no difficulty, they can park
in a regular space. Having said that, however, those women who have
difficult pregnancies at any stage should request a temporary disability
placard. They aren't difficult to get, and should certainly be entitled to
a disability space. Designating spaces just because someone happens to be
pregnant undeserved advantage to some.

I haven't seen any spaces designated for mothers who have children along
with them, but I think that's a crock.

--
Wayne Boatwright

"One man's meat is another man's poison"
- Oswald Dykes, English writer, 1709.