Penn. law bans strangers from touching pregnant bellies

amycorn

Has this been discussed?

It's something almost every pregnant woman goes through -- someone touching her belly. Well, there'll be no more of that for strangers in one state.

It is now illegal in Pennsylvania to touch the belly of a pregnant woman without her permission.

It started with a case, where a man is facing harassment charges for doing just that.

This story is generating a lot of talk on social media and we want to know what you think.
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https://abclocal.go.com/kgo/story?section=news/national_world&id=9299875

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Nechie122

This seems pretty hard to enforce. Most offenders are old ladies, not creepy dudes. Are we going to start fining grandma?

That said, I don't think a single stranger touched me while I was pregnant. I give off THAT much of a bitchy vibe. (And that's probably why they often tell me at daycare that DD is "standoffish." Um, yes, it's genetic.)

Nechie122

LexiLupin said:

Nechie122 said:

This seems pretty hard to enforce. Most offenders are old ladies, not creepy dudes. Are we going to start fining grandma?

Why is age a pass to be socially inept?

We generally don't pass laws that enforce social niceties.

RondackHiker

Nechie122 said:

LexiLupin said:

Nechie122 said:

This seems pretty hard to enforce. Most offenders are old ladies, not creepy dudes. Are we going to start fining grandma?

Why is age a pass to be socially inept?

We generally don't pass laws that enforce social niceties.

No, but I bet most women won't charge the typical granny, and that in many cases if they did granny would get a warning.

This will be used more for people who really invade space and don't back off. At least that's how I'm imagining it.

Nechie122

RondackHiker said:

Nechie122 said:

LexiLupin said:

Nechie122 said:

This seems pretty hard to enforce. Most offenders are old ladies, not creepy dudes. Are we going to start fining grandma?

Why is age a pass to be socially inept?

We generally don't pass laws that enforce social niceties.

No, but I bet most women won't charge the typical granny, and that in many cases if they did granny would get a warning.

This will be used more for people who really invade space and don't back off. At least that's how I'm imagining it.

Not a legal expert but wouldn't that be covered under some other statute? What makes pregnancy so special?

NO ONE should be groped or touched in a threatening manner.

ETA: I'm all for legislation that protects women from unwanted advances, but I think the law should go beyond pregnancy. No one touched me while I was pregnant -- which is not to say it doesn't happen -- but plenty of guys approached me in a harrassing way when I was a teenager and wearing a short skirt. Why is that okay? Neither scenario should be tolerated. But if we're trying to go beyond "threatening" to merely "annoying" -- and trying to legislate against social ineptness -- then I think the law misses the mark.

RondackHiker

Nechie122 said:

RondackHiker said:

Nechie122 said:

LexiLupin said:

Nechie122 said:

This seems pretty hard to enforce. Most offenders are old ladies, not creepy dudes. Are we going to start fining grandma?

Why is age a pass to be socially inept?

We generally don't pass laws that enforce social niceties.

No, but I bet most women won't charge the typical granny, and that in many cases if they did granny would get a warning.

This will be used more for people who really invade space and don't back off. At least that's how I'm imagining it.

Not a legal expert but wouldn't that be covered under some other statute? What makes pregnancy so special?

NO ONE should be groped or touched in a threatening manner.

ETA: I'm all for legislation that protects women from unwanted advances, but I think the law should go beyond pregnancy. No one touched me while I was pregnant -- which is not to say it doesn't happen -- but plenty of guys approached me in a harrassing way when I was a teenager and wearing a short skirt. Why is that okay? Neither scenario should be tolerated. But if we're trying to go beyond "threatening" to merely "annoying" -- and trying to legislate against social ineptness -- then I think the law misses the mark.

I'm betting you could have had those guys picked up under sexual harassment. I'm wondering if this law came about because this situation wasn't covered under other laws? This isn't sexual harassment and may not meet the legal definition of assault since there is no intent to harm or injuries.

I don't know. I can't find any well written stories yet. I do know that many people feel it's okay to treat a pregnant woman differently than a non-pregnant woman. I had plenty of grabs and hated them, and people always seem surprised that you don't like it.

Really, I'd have to find a better article to see if this law was intended to cover a gap in the existing law or was an attempt to legislate social norms. Either way I don't think it's necessarily a bad thing; I'm kind of hoping the news slows the bump gropers.

pinitbaby

While I agree there's a point in a woman's pregnancy where she is sick of the crystal ball effect, I think the judicial system should be harsher on rapists, murderers, pedophiles and abusers. Fucking ridiculous what people are getting away with. Someone rubs your belly because they're happy for you, get over it.

Dwinalsinlove

I work in the criminal field in PA and I can see how this isn't really covered under the current statutes. Harassment is defined as more of a kick, hit or shove and it is bumped up to simple assault if their are bodily injuries involved. 

The best result would be that this will make people hesitate before touching someone. However, I really don't see this being prosecuted much. Harassment is a summary offense which just carries a small fine. I'm assuming this will be an addition under the harassment statute to more clearly define it. 

SCSmith2011

I'm kind of confused by this. I get legislative reports every day and I haven't seen a law addressing this come across my desk. Also a quick search of the General Assembly website didn't pull up any assault or harrassment law adressing pregnent women. So I'm skeptical. Our local news isn't reporting this.