A word to the wise: if you’re in Pennsylvania and you see an expectant mother, don’t touch her baby bump.
The alleged belly rubber in in the Oct. 20th case is Richard J. Beishline, 57, who cops say went to a pregnant neighbor’s home in Cumberland County. The woman called the police, saying that Beishline hugged her and stroked her stomach, despite her protests.
Beishline was charged with harassment.
Authorities there used an anti-harassment statute to charge a man, who they say, kept touching a woman’s belly — without her consent.
However, the law is nuanced. They point out it is not illegal to rub a pregnant lady’s stomach in Pennsylvania, but “it is illegal to harass a mother-to-be or a woman who is not pregnant — for that matter — with invasive touching.”