SALT LAKE CITY – Birth parents in Utah will be legally required to pay half of a woman’s pregnancy costs under a new state law that critics say they do not do enough to adequately address maternal health needs.
The project sponsor presented the measure as an effort to reduce the burden of pregnancy on women and increase responsibility for men who have children. But some critics argue that the new legislation will not help women more vulnerable and can make situations of abuse even more dangerous for pregnant women.
Utah appears to be the first state to require prenatal alimony, according to the state’s planned Parenthood association and the project sponsor. But some states, including Wisconsin and New York, have provisions that can make parents financially responsible for pre-birth expenses.
Governor Spencer Cox, a Republican, recently signed the proposal, which received broad support in the Republican-controlled legislature
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Republican Congressman 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 seek legislation that would make it easier to bring life to the world.
“We want to help people and really be pro-life in the way we do it, as opposed to anti-abortion,” said Brammer. “One of the ways to help with this was to reduce the weight of the pregnancy.”
The bill would apply to a pregnant woman’s health insurance premiums and any pregnancy-related medical expenses, Brammer said.
If the child’s paternity is challenged, parents will not be required to pay until paternity is established. The father would also not be financially responsible for the cost of an abortion performed without her consent, unless it is necessary to prevent the mother’s death or if the pregnancy is the result of rape.
In Utah, mothers already have the option of seeking help related to childbirth expenses through the courts, but few do, said Liesa Stockdale, director of the state’s Office of Recovery Services, who normally collects child support. She said that mothers will now have the option of also seeking pregnancy-related payments through the legal system, but it is unclear how often they will do so.
“I don’t know how often it will be used,” said Stockdale. “It is not yet known how often parents will choose to bear these costs. But certainly if they do, we are here to collect. “
The project does not intend to decrease the frequency of abortions, but Brammer said this could be a potential outcome.
Anti-abortion activists praised the project, however, saying it will protect the lives of unborn children by supporting women during pregnancy. Merrilee Boyack, president of the Abortion-Free Utah coalition, said he hopes this project will reduce abortions in the state by easing economic pressures on new mothers.
“Anything we can do to support women in these circumstances will help them give birth to their babies, feel good about that choice and feel supported along the way,” said Boyack.
The new legislation comes at the top of a long list of restrictions that Utah has imposed on abortion. Last year, the state passed a measure that would make abortion illegal if the United States Supreme Court overturned the decades-old decision that legalized abortion across the country. The Utah measure would make it a crime to perform the procedure, except in cases of rape, incest and a serious threat to a mother’s life.
Other Republican-ruled states have considered a series of anti-abortion restrictions this year. The ban on abortion has already been enacted into law in South Carolina and Arkansas.
Democratic lawmakers and women’s rights activists questioned whether the new legislation on helping parents to cover costs will really meet women’s needs.
Planned Parenthood spokeswoman Katrina Barker said she supports giving more financial support to women, but said there are better ways to help women, such as expanding Medicaid, access to contraceptives and paid parental leave.
Barker also said that he does not believe that this legislation will lead to fewer women having abortions because the costs of pregnancy are typically small compared to the costs of raising a child.
“In the grand scheme of things, having a child and raising it to adulthood is going to cost a lot more money,” said Barker.
The average cost of raising a child is $ 233,610 – excluding the cost of college – for a middle-income family, according to a 2015 report by the United States Department of Agriculture. The cost of an abortion can range from free to up to $ 1,000, depending on the location and whether the mother has health insurance, according to Planned Parenthood.
Domestic abuse tends to increase during pregnancy and pursuing these costs can further increase the stressors on a baby’s financial livelihood, said Gabriella Archuleta, public policy analyst at YWCA Utah, who provides services to survivors of domestic violence. About 324,000 pregnant women are abused each year in the United States, according to data from the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.
Archuleta also noted that this measure does not equitably address the high cost of navigating the legal system and is likely to only serve women who are wealthier or have wealthy partners.
“At first glance, it seems like a good idea,” said Archuleta. “But what we’re here to do is look at some of the nuances and how it affects women, and I don’t think those nuances were really explored to the extent that they should be.”