New Utah law requires biological fathers to pay 50% of mother’s pregnancy costs

Mary Margaret Olohan, DCNF

A new Utah law will require the father of an unborn baby to pay half of the costs of the pregnancy.

HB 113 requires that the father of the unborn baby pay 50% of the mother’s insurance premiums during the pregnancy, as well as “pregnancy-related medical costs, including the hospital birth of the child, that are not paid by another person.”

If the paternity of the father is questioned, the father will not be required to pay the mother’s expenses until paternity has been established.

Republican Utah Gov. Spencer Cox signed the law, Shared Medical Costs, into law March 16 after the legislation received widespread support from the state’s lawmakers, according to CBS News. The legislation was sponsored by Republican state Rep. Brady Brammer and will go into effect in May.

Under HB 113, unless the mother needs an abortion to save her life or in cases of rape or incest, the father will owe no money if the mother gets an abortion without his consent.

The new legislation makes Utah the only state that requires pre-birth support, the Associated Press reported, though Wisconsin and New York have provisions that may cause fathers to pay for pre-birth expenses.

Critics of the new law, such as Planned Parenthood workers, argue that it will make abusive situations more dangerous for pregnant women, the AP reported.

But Brammer said that the law helps ease the stress of bringing a new baby into the world.

“We want to help people and actually be pro-life in how we do it as opposed to anti-abortion,” Brammer said, according to the AP. “One of the ways to help with that was to help the burden of pregnancy be decreased.”

DONATE TO BIZPAC REVIEW

Please help us! If you are fed up with letting radical big tech execs, phony fact-checkers, tyrannical liberals and a lying mainstream media have unprecedented power over your news please consider making a donation to BPR to help us fight them. Now is the time. Truth has never been more critical!

Success! Thank you for donating. Please share BPR content to help combat the lies.

Comment

We have no tolerance for comments containing violence, racism, profanity, vulgarity, doxing, or discourteous behavior. Thank you for partnering with us to maintain fruitful conversation.

BPR INSIDER COMMENTS

Scroll down for non-member comments or join our insider conversations by becoming a member. We'd love to have you!

Latest Articles