The Governor of Utah has signed a new bill that will make biological fathers liable for half the cost of pregnancy and childbirth. Republican Governor Spencer Cox signed HB113 into law and says that the move is a pro-life decision. The governor believes that there will be fewer abortions carried out if the cost of pregnancy and child-birth is covered in half by the father of the child. The bill passed unopposed through the Utah senate.
The bill also means that fathers will not have to pay anything if the woman decides to have an abortion. Abortion is legal in all 50 US states and is backed by Federal Law. Despite this, many states make it as difficult as possible to end a pregnancy, particularly those that are conservative leaning, such as Utah.
The bill states that fathers will not have to pay anything until paternity is assured through a DNA test. If this occurs after birth, then the payments demanded will be backdated.
Some have raised concerns about the fact that a woman may be tied to a man that is physically abusive in order to get payments. Others have suggested that this may make single-women more likely to attempt to become pregnant without their partner's consent, because they know they will not have to fully shoulder the costs themselves.
Supporters of the bill have said that any danger to the woman from an abusive partner is mitigated by the fact that The Office of Recovery Services will be tasked with extracting payments, the same body that is responsible for getting child-maintenance money from biological fathers. The organisation would act as an intermediary between mother and father and make sure that not only are payments are made but that women are kept safe at all times.
Democratic Senator, Luz Escamilla, said that in despite of the problems the bill may pose that overall it is a good piece of legislation. She stated:
"There's a lot of pieces in this… ultimately I think it's a good bill. It's about sharing costs when both parties are involved."
[h/t: Upworthy]
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