Now in her third trimester, Therese York has begun to show signs of unusual and intense pregnancy cravings—most notably an overpowering craving to be respected as much as the average human being.
The cravings first appeared a month ago, when people on the street started freely putting their hands on her belly, “like I was some sort of Golden Retriever,” York says. This snowballed into near-strangers at her office cooing and baby-talking directly to her stomach “as if it were a microphone and it was karaoke night.”
Things came to a head last week, when she longed to be offered a seat while riding a local bus.
“Does anyone see me?” she exhaustedly asked the men and women seated around her. “I’m nine months pregnant and I would like to sit.”
“It’s crazy some of the things women ask for when they’re pregnant,” says a man who witnessed the event. “My wife’s been pregnant twice and she’d always ask for the weirdest stuff, like Tylenol and for me to stop trying to have sex with her when she was feeling sick.”
York’s intense cravings to be treated like a person with real emotions manifested themselves in other ways. Just last weekend, York was reportedly seen pleading for a chair at the register she worked at, as she was expecting to go into labor within the next week.
Her manager Dan Bert swiftly denied York’s request, knowing that whatever she was saying was probably just the intense hormones talking.
“I’ve heard of these insane pregnancy cravings before, so I refused her request to take some time off as I knew it would eventually pass,” Bert says. “My sister was pregnant and she’d always ask for random things, like help around the house. These preggos are nuts!”
Just a few days earlier, York’s intense hunger to be recognized as a full human being struck again during a camping trip with her in-laws in which she was asked to sleep in a tent.
“I know demanding for ice cream and pickles can be considered a craving, but sleeping on the ground in the middle of nowhere is a real concern to my health,” York claimed in an emotional state. “I’m trying my best to not be too needy, but they also expected me to go on a long hike with them when I had been experiencing contractions the same day.”
York’s urge to “not be treated like an animal” continued when she engaged in a lively debate with her father-in-law, Jim Halpern about keeping Planned Parenthood afloat. York claims the non-profit company will give her increased access to maternal health services. “I’ve heard of pregnant women dipping boiled eggs into peanut butter, or even microwaving bananas,” said Halpern later. Lytle said. “But special treatment for things just because they’re pregnant? Now I’ve seen it all.”
York went so far to say that she will continue demanding to be treated like a human even after the pregnancy has passed, a threat her family quietly ignored.
