I couldn’t find this on www.snopes.com --that is, the story of the very pregnant woman detained in a store because some dimwit store gaurd thought she was trying to sneak a basketball or something out of the store under her clothes. At least, I couldn’t find it in the Sex category, under the Pregnancy subheading.
Don’t know bout that, but I remember someone tell me once when I was pregnant that it was illegal to search a pregnant woman suspect of shoplifting.
That may have something to do with tramatizing a woman in a “delicate” condition.
I have worked in retail before, and as a part of shrinkage control classes, that was never mentioned.
Probably doesn’t help much, but I thought maybe there would be something there to maybe jog your or someone elses memory.
Don’t know why you’d call this an urban legend, I garauntee it has happened thousands of times all over the world. So often, I imagine it isn’t even going to make a ripple on the typical internet radar. What makes this seem so odd to you, and why should it be shocking? I can’t say the gaurd would be dimwitted either, possibly insensitive if he brought it up the wrong way, but I’m sure its a common situation.
Given that a false accusation of theft by a store employee is practically a “gimme” in the law suit that immediately follows, adding the additional sympathy generally accorded to pregnant women by jurors, I find it unlikely that merchants allow this to happen thousands of times over any reasonable time period.
No one wants to go to court in a case involving a pregnant woman. You are potentially liable for multiple millions of dollars in real damages, and the suffering and punitive arena gets downright ugly to even think about. If the child has any congenital medical condition which you cannot prove were from causes not related to the incident over which the suit is filed, you can count on jurors to figure you deserve to get cleaned out. You are better served in the long run to just pony up six figures, and skulk away. (Oh, yeah, and fire that moron from security, and the entire training department too.)
<P ALIGN=“CENTER”> Tris </P> <HR>
“Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it’s time to pause and reflect.”
-Mark Twain
<FONT FACE=“Webdings” SIZE=5 COLOR="#ff2400"> ** - ** </FONT>
Oh Please!
A woman would be stopped and asked if she were carrying any merchandise which she did not pay for, and possibly frisked if she acted especially suspicious. Nothing especially traumatic, you expect maybe a body cavity search?
Fact of the matter, the stores are permitted to protect their merchandise, and short of prejudice and assault, the stores are not at fault.
There was an article in the Joliet (IL) Herald-News in 1984 or 85 about a pregnant woman accused of shoplifting a basketball. The article said she had to go into the manager’s office and pull her shirt up far enough to expose her abdomen. I don’t remember exactly, but I assume there were names, or at least ages or places of residence, mentioned.
Remember, I’m pulling for you; we’re all in this together.
—Red Green
Jan Harold Brunvand mentioned it in three of his urban-legend books…