Offering the seat to pregnant mothers in public places, especially when using public transport, is regarded as the norm, and is undoubtedly the right thing to do. But is it ethical for a pregnant woman to demand seats from others?

Recently, a man has stirred up a controversy on social media after stating that he will not give up his seat on public transport, due to being extremely tired from long working hours. The problem started when the said man took to a subforum on Reddit, to reveal his experience. In this subforum called ‘Am I The A**hole?’, users post various conflicts and grievances they’ve come across, and then the online community votes on whether the original poster did the right thing or not.

The thread posted was titled “AITA for not giving up my seat to a pregnant woman?”. According to the thread, the original poster had recently refused to give his seat to a pregnant woman while traveling on public transport, after working for ten hours. He asked the online community if what he did was acceptable or not.

The post is as follows:

The Redditor also revealed that he told the woman that it is not on him to provide her support because she couldn’t afford a car. When this statement was heard by an elderly man who was traveling on the same bus, the original poster was berated.

This post received both negative and positive feedback on Reddit. The man’s attitude was heavily criticized by many social media users, with some Reddit users stating:

#1

#2

#3

However, some others were supportive of the man, stating that no one, not even a pregnant woman, has the right to demand the seat from another person.