Effing Pro-Choice T-Shirt Keeps Flier Off Plane

A woman missed an American Airlines connecting flight because she was wearing a pro-choice T-shirt with an obscenity about what she might do to a senator. The captain of a flight the woman was exiting scolded her over the shirt that read: “If I wanted the government in my womb, I’d f--- a senator,” and said she would have to change before boarding her next flight. “This conversation led to me missing my connecting flight," the passenger told RH Reality Check. Her abortion stand had nothing to do with the captain's response, according to an American Airlines spokesman. “The only reason she was asked to cover up her T-shirt was the appearance of the F-word on the T-shirt," he explained. "The outcome would have been exactly the same had the message been anti-abortion.”

American's "contract of carriage" states that the airline can bounce passengers if they're "clothed in a manner that would cause discomfort or offense to others"—though that's widely open to interpretation. "The irony is that she went through several layers of personnel and was allowed to fly," one attorney told MSNBC. But another travel attorney points out that it's ultimately up to the captain. "If he thinks other passengers may get upset, it becomes a safety issue," he added. The woman boarded a later flight, wearing a shawl to cover the shirt. (More pro-choice stories.)