[QUOTE=Michelle2385;6805551]So, what would happen if I refused to join the “shoe carnival” the next time I fly? Would I really be grounded, or would they agree to swab my shoes instead? [QUOTE]

My personal experience in ORD: back in April, I was hugely pregnant and not about to bend over to untie my sneakers and then try to put them back on again after screening.

I explained to the screener that I'd really rather not remove my shoes, and why.

The screener waved me over to the side, where I got to sit down (a relief actually since we had been in line for awhile). They made me wait a few minutes as punishment, I guess. Then, I held up one foot, then the other, as she wanded and swabbed my shoes. I got the all-clear, and was free to go.

Frankly, I was surprised in all the travel I did when I was hugely pregnant, that nobody tried to pat-down my belly. Who knows what I could have been hiding in there.