Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, February 19, 1992 TAG: 9202190256
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: SANDRA BROWN KELLY
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
DELEGATE PUSHING PREGNANT PARKING
Del. Robert McDonnell believes the "office of motherhood is pretty special," so he's trying to cut pregnant women a little slack when they go shopping.His idea made some people uptight, though.
The Virginia Beach legislator proposed that women in the last trimester of pregnancy - "when gravity is starting to take effect" - be eligible for temporary handicapped parking permits. The privilege would extend for 45 days after delivery.
The idea came from a constituent, McDonnell said. And, he said, his first reaction to it was about the same as some callers' has been: that handicapped-parking permits for pregnant women is a ridiculous idea, even offensive.
"Then I started thinking about it," he said. "Every time I drove by a store or hotel with handicapped parking, two-thirds of the spots seemed to be vacant most of the time."
It's not just that pregnant women could have difficulty walking, but what many of them have to do while they walk, the freshman delegate said. "Carry kids into a store; carry bags. It can be taxing."
The pregnancy-parking proposal's "negative impact," as a legislative aide put it, came especially from women concerned that McDonnell had linked pregnancy to a handicap.
"I was not trying to say pregnancy is a handicap," he said. "If I was, you'd have to say I've handicapped my wife four times."
McDonnell and his wife, Maureen, have five children, daughters 11, 7, 3, and 5-month-old twin sons.
Maureen McDonnell said Tuesday that she used to stare longingly at empty handicapped-parking slots when she was pregnant and trying to run errands with three children in tow.
"I'm only 5 feet 2 and it was hard to walk," she said.
She's not likely to benefit from her husband's political effort, however.
"I have no vested interest in this. I think my childbearing years are over," he said.
"Praise God," was Maureen's reply.
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