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Fathers will now be required to pay 50% of out-of-pocket pregnancy costs in Utah. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)
A new law in the state of Utah now requires biological fathers to pay half of any out-of-pocket pregnancy costs.
The bill, introduced by Rep. Brady Brammer, R-Pleasant Grove, was meant to address some of the issues related to financial obligations during pregnancy, which Brammer said have fallen heavily on women in the past.
Financial responsibility will now fall equally on both parents. Fathers of an unborn child will now be required to pay 50% of the costs, provided that paternity is not disputed. If paternity is disputed, responsibility to pay the out-of-pocket costs will be held off until a paternity test can be administered.
SALT LAKE CITY Paris Hilton returned to Salt Lake City on Tuesday to join Gov. Spencer Cox in a ceremonial bill signing for a law placing more regulations on Utah s troubled-teen centers for the first time in 15 years.
Cox signed the bill March 22, but Tuesday he held a ceremonial signing with Hilton to highlight the new law. It seeks to put more government oversight on Utah s youth residential treatment centers by requiring instances of physical restraints and involuntary confinement to be documented and submit monthly reports to the Utah Office of Licensing. It also bans chemical sedation and mechanical restraints unless authorized, and requires at least four inspections each year, announced and unannounced.
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A new Utah law will require biological fathers pay half of a woman s out-of-pocket pregnancy costs. This story and more in Tuesday morning s news brief.
Tuesday morning, April 6, 2021
State
Dads Must Pay Half For Pregnancy
A new Utah law will require biological fathers pay half of a woman s out-of-pocket pregnancy costs. The bill s sponsor, Rep. Brady Brammer, R-Pleasant Grove, said the measure is an effort to decrease the burden of pregnancy on women and increase responsibility for men who have children. Critics argue the legislation doesn t do enough to adequately address maternal health care needs and could make abusive situations even more dangerous. Anti-abortion activists have lauded the bill saying it will protect the lives of unborn children by supporting women through their pregnancy. The legislation is not intended to lower the frequency of abortions, but Brammer said that could be a consequence of the law.
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