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Brammer said the aim of the bill is to offer better assistance to expectant mothers and not necessarily to lower the state’s abortion rates, though he acknowledged that is a possible outcome.
“We want to help people and actually be pro-life in how we do it as opposed to anti-abortion,” Brammer said. “One of the ways to help with that was to help the burden of pregnancy be decreased.”
The chairman of Abortion-Free Utah, Merrilee Boyack, hopes by relieving some financial pressures on pregnant women, there will be a decrease in abortions.
The bill would apply to a pregnant woman’s health insurance premiums and any pregnancy-related medical costs, Brammer said.
If the paternity of the child is disputed, fathers won’t be required to pay until after paternity is established. The father also wouldn’t be financially responsible for the cost of an abortion received without his consent unless it’s necessary to prevent the death of the mother or if the pregnancy was the result of rape.
In Utah, mothers already have the option to seek support related to birth expenses through the courts but few do, said Liesa Stockdale, director of the state’s Office of Recovery Services, which typically collects child support. She said mothers will now have the option to also seek pregnancy-related payments through the legal system, but it’s unclear how often they will pursue it.
The bill would apply to a pregnant woman’s health insurance premiums and any pregnancy-related medical costs, Brammer said.
If the paternity of the child is disputed, fathers won’t be required to pay until after paternity is established. The father also wouldn’t be financially responsible for the cost of an abortion received without his consent unless it’s necessary to prevent the death of the mother or if the pregnancy was the result of rape.
In Utah, mothers already have the option to seek support related to birth expenses through the courts but few do, said Liesa Stockdale, director of the state’s Office of Recovery Services, which typically collects child support. She said mothers will now have the option to also seek pregnancy-related payments through the legal system, but it’s unclear how often they will pursue it.
ABC News
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Utah dads to be required to pay half of pregnancy costs
Utahâs governor has signed a law requiring biological fathers to pay half of a womanâs out-of-pocket pregnancy costs
By SOPHIA EPPOLITO Associated Press/Report for America
April 5, 2021, 12:47 PM
⢠5 min read
Catch up on the developing stories making headlines.The Associated Press
SALT LAKE CITY Biological fathers in Utah will be legally required to pay half of a womanâs out-of-pocket pregnancy costs under a new law unique to the state that critics say doesnât do enough to adequately address maternal healthcare needs.