ORLANDO, Fla. \u2013 A controversial Florida law allowing pregnant women to obtain disability parking permits will remain in place \u2014 at least for now \u2014 despite growing backlash and ongoing legal challenges.<\/p>\n
The law, passed last year,<\/a> allows expectant mothers to receive temporary disabled parking placards for up to a year. Supporters argue it provides relief for women navigating pregnancy in Florida\u2019s heat, while critics say it further limits already scarce accessible parking spaces.<\/p>\n For families who rely on those spots, the impact is personal. <\/p>\n For Schuyer Arakawa, some steps have been far more difficult than others after she suffered a traumatic accident while on a fellowship abroad 10 years ago. <\/p>\n \u201cWe did whitewater rafting and wanted to stop in the gravel and swim. And a boulder fell on my head,\u201d Arakawa said.<\/p>\n She survived, but with serious injuries that continue to affect her mobility. With the support of her mother, Meredith Alexander, she has been working through recovery at Next Step Rehabilitation Center in Orlando.<\/p>\n But now, it\u2019s the less visible challenges that make daily life harder.<\/p>\n \u201cHaving parking definitely [matters],\u201d Arakawa said, noting she needs extra space to safely get in and out of a vehicle with the help of her mother. <\/p>\n Alexander says accessible parking is not optional \u2014 it\u2019s essential.<\/p>\n \u201cWe just realized how non-negotiable it is,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n But those spaces are becoming harder to find.<\/p>\n Families like theirs say parking lots often have far fewer accessible spots compared to standard spaces \u2014 and with more people now eligible for permits, competition is increasing.<\/p>\n State Rep. Fiona McFarland, who pushed for the law last year, defended the measure at the time. <\/p>\n \u201cI feel very strongly that pregnancy is not a disability. I just want to be able to park up front,\u201d McFarland said.<\/p>\n She previously shared her own experience while pregnant:<\/p>\n \u201cAs someone who was nine months pregnant in Florida\u2019s hot summer, I struggled to get where I had to go and walked past all these handicap spots that were vacant,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n But for Alexander, the reality looks different.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve had to park so far away from where we actually need to go \u2014 it\u2019s just outrageous,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Even routine tasks can pose risks for Arakawa.<\/p>\n \u201cI can\u2019t really walk and talk, so I have to focus on walking. So trying to do that in the middle of traffic would be really dangerous,\u201d she explained.<\/p>\n Now, the family is hoping for a compromise that balances access for everyone.<\/p>\n \u201cIt should be a no-brainer to take some of the normal spots and designate them for families,\u201d Alexander said.<\/p>\n Since the law took effect, thousands<\/a> of permits have been issued for pregnant women. However, the law is also facing legal challenges<\/a>, with lawsuits already filed. Disability advocates say while lawmakers have not taken further action, they are hopeful the courts will step in.<\/p>\n Breaking News Alerts<\/p>\n Get breaking news alerts delivered to your inbox.<\/p>\n Copyright 2026 by WKMG ClickOrlando – All rights reserved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"ORLANDO, Fla. \u2013 A controversial Florida law allowing pregnant women to obtain disability parking permits will remain in…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":197682,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[28,30,29,1335],"class_list":["post-197681","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-florida","tag-florida","tag-florida-headlines","tag-florida-news","tag-orange-county"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/197681","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=197681"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/197681\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/197682"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=197681"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=197681"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=197681"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}