SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Biological fathers in Utah will be required by law to pay half of a woman’s pregnancy expenses out of pocket, under a new law unique to the state that critics say isn’t enough does to adequately meet maternal health needs.
The bill’s sponsor has presented the measure as an attempt to reduce the burden of pregnancy on women and increase the responsibility of men who have children. However, some critics argue that the new legislation will not help the most vulnerable women and could make abusive situations even more dangerous for pregnant women.
Utah appears to be the first state to mandate prenatal child support, according to the state’s Planned Parenthood Association and the sponsor of the bill. However, some states, including Wisconsin and New York, have regulations that can make fathers financially responsible for prenatal expenses.
Governor Spencer Cox, a Republican, recently signed the proposal into law, which received broad support in the GOP-controlled legislature.
Republican Rep. Brady Brammer said he decided to sponsor the measure because he was frustrated by the number of anti-abortion measures going through the legislature and wanted to pursue laws that would make it easier to live in to bring the world.
“We want to help people and actually be pro-life, as opposed to anti-abortionists,” Brammer said. “One of the ways that we were helping to do that was by reducing the stress of pregnancy.”
The bill would cover a pregnant woman’s health insurance premiums and any pregnancy-related medical expenses, Brammer said.
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If the paternity of the child is disputed, the fathers do not have to pay until paternity has been determined. The father would also not be financially responsible for the cost of an abortion without his consent unless it is necessary to prevent the mother’s death or if the pregnancy was the result of rape.
In Utah, mothers already have the option to seek childbirth-related assistance in court, but few do so, said Liesa Stockdale, director of the state’s Office of Recovery Services, which normally collects child support. She said mothers will now be able to claim pregnancy-related payments through the legal system as well, but it’s unclear how often they will pursue this.
“I don’t know how often it’s used,” Stockdale said. “It remains to be seen how often parents will assume these costs. But if you do, we’re here to collect.”
The bill isn’t intended to reduce abortion rates, but Brammer said that could be a possible outcome.
However, anti-abortion activists have praised the law, saying it will protect the lives of unborn children by supporting women during their pregnancy. Merrilee Boyack, chair of the Abortion-Free Utah coalition, said she hopes this bill will reduce abortions in the state by easing the economic pressure on young mothers.
“Anything we can do to support women in these circumstances will help them deliver their babies, feel comfortable about that decision, and feel supported along the way,” Boyack said.
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The new legislation heads a long list of restrictions Utah has placed on abortion. Last year, the state approved a measure that would make abortion illegal if the US Supreme Court overturned the decades-old ruling that legalized it nationwide. The Utah Measure would make it a crime to conduct the procedure except in cases involving rape, incest and serious threats to a mother’s life.
Other Republican-ruled states have considered a string of tough anti-abortion restrictions this year. Comprehensive abortion bans have already been signed in South Carolina and Arkansas.
Democratic MPs and suffragettes have questioned whether the new father-sharing law actually meets the needs of women.
Planned Parenthood spokeswoman Katrina Barker said she supports giving women more financial assistance, but said there are better ways to help women, such as expanding Medicaid, providing access to contraception and providing paid parental leave .
Barker also said she doesn’t think this legislation will result in fewer women having abortions because the cost of getting pregnant is typically small compared to the cost of raising a child.
“By and large, it’s going to be a lot more money to have a kid and raise them to adulthood,” Barker said.
According to a 2015 report by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the average cost of raising a child for a middle-income family is $233,610 — not including the cost of college. The cost of an abortion can range from free to $1,000, depending on location and whether the mother has health insurance, according to Planned Parenthood.
Domestic violence tends to escalate during pregnancy, and finding those expenses could further increase the stresses of financially supporting a baby, said Gabriella Archuleta, a public policy analyst with YWCA Utah, which provides services for domestic violence survivors. According to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, approximately 324,000 pregnant women are molested in the United States each year.
Archuleta also noted that this measure does not fairly address the high costs of navigating the legal system and will likely only serve women who are more affluent or have wealthy partners.
“On the surface, it sounds like a good idea,” Archuleta said. “But we’re here to look at some of the nuances and how they affect women, and I don’t think those nuances have really been explored to the extent that they should have.”
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