Does The City Care About Pregnant Women?

Does The City Care About Pregnant Women?

With an MTA strike all but imminent for tomorrow's commute, does the city's contingency plan even think of pregnant woman? My wife has started her 37th week of pregnancy and this is her final week of work. She takes the bus from North New Jersey into Port Authority and then catches the cross town bus to her offices. She has extreme difficult walking and can not bear the burden of a long walk to work which is why she has been taking the bus cross town. Now, with a strike, the big question is: How would she get to work? Missing her last week of work is not acceptable as she has to train a replacement and must tie up all loose ends before her 4 month maternity begins.

I was reviewing the city's contingency plan on the internet. Private bus companies as well as the PATH will be running. The PATH is not a good option for a pregnant woman because my parking is out of Harrison, NJ and to get to the platform, one must trek up 37 stairs. This is NOT an acceptable option for a pregnant, elderly, or handicapped person. Plus, even if there was an elevator or escalator, the walk from 34th Street to work is too long with busses or subways no operating. A private bus company gets her into The City but unless a miracle happens and she hails a cab during rush hour, she'd be stranded at Port Authority.

So, I reviewed driving options. The city is enforcing High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) Requirements making it mandatory to have 4 people in a car to drive into Manhattan from 5:00am to 11:00am. This is not right as well. With a pregnant person almost ready to give birth, trying to share a car when you don't know what could happen is not an acceptable option. Therefore, I believe that a pregnant person should be allowed to enter Manhattan with out meeting the HOV requirements.

Why should pregnant women suffer because of labor disputes? Women go through enough carrying babies for almost 10 months. They are constantly uncomfortable and should not be walking around in long distances in this frigid weather. I'm sure Union chief, Roger Toussaint, wouldn't be happy if he had a pregnant family member stuck walking to work because of this strike.

Can you imagine seven million angry people not being able to make it to work? Think of the elderly. Think of the handicapped. Think of the pregnant. That makes for a very merry holiday season. Even merrier would be the lawsuit I'd have against the city if my wife had to work to her office putting herself and the baby in harms way. I plan on driving into The City with my wife and unborn child and pray that they do not stop me. If they do, does anyone know the name of a good lawyer.