Have you been in public places where some people are cutting the line to get ahead? Most of us did…
This new law however will give some people the right to cut the line anytime. But this time, it’s for a good cause.
An amendment to Israel’s Women’s Equal Rights Act will allow pregnant women to skip to the head of lines at “supermarkets, shops, pharmacies, the post office and other places that provide public service.” The legislation was passed unanimously.
Pregnant women won’t have to wait in line anymore in places where public service is provided, according to a law passed by the Knesset – reported by the Jerusalem Post.
48 (Forty-Eight) party members unanimously passing it, aiming to “give pregnant women the respect they deserve.” Ans iIt all started after a politician’s pregnant wife was not given the opportunity to go ahead the line even she’s pregnant.
Here’s what Joint List MK Yousef Jabareen said about what his wife experienced:
“The idea for the bill proposal came when I was abroad with my wife who was pregnant. And when we saw the long lines in public places, we thought of giving up on those places. But we were pleasantly surprised when the service providers told us that we did not have to stand in line. When we came back to Israel we noticed the differences. It is time to give pregnant women the respect they deserve.”
The Jerusalem Post further explains that ‘public service’ is defined in the legislation as a service given by a person to the public, or to a part of it, by a public authority. According to the law, service providers will be entitled to demand that a medical document be presented for proof of pregnancy.”
The Jerusalem Post further explains the introduction of the bill notes: “Pregnant women are sometimes forced to wait for a long time in long and exhausting lines at supermarkets, shops, pharmacies, the post office and other places which provide public service. In order to give pregnant women the respect they deserve and to make life easier for them, it is proposed to amend the Women’s Equal Rights — and to determine that in a situation in which a pregnant woman will ask, [she] will be granted the right to receive public service without waiting in line.”
Among the many comments left on the Daily Mail’s coverage of the law were those in favor of it, with one pregnant mom-to-be sharing: “I am six months pregnant with my second child. At the supermarket the other day the checkout queue was 20 minutes long. I had a heavy basket and felt dizzy and exhausted. I was happy to wait my turn, but to be honest would have been very grateful if there was an opportunity to get out of there faster so I didn’t faceplant the floor.”
She continued: “No, we are not sick or disabled, but why do people feel the need to so readily dismiss how exhausted, sick, achey and dizzy pregnant women can feel? Why is that such a difficult thing to feel empathy for? I don’t expect special treatment at all but I absolutely appreciate every single bit of help that comes my way, from the gentleman who holds open a heavy door for me to the driver who kindly helps me get my toddler son into her taxi to the hospital.”
Sources: AWM, The Jerusalem Post
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