Biological Fathers now Responsible for Half of Pregnancy Costs

A new law in Utah will require biological fathers to pay half of the mother's out-of-pocket pregnancy expenses.

The Utah lawmaker who introduced the bill is hoping that the bill does two things: help expectant mothers handle the bills associated with the pregnancy and force men to accept responsibility for their actions.

According to the story from KLFY, the bill would not only apply to any pregnancy-related costs but would also require the biological father to financially assist with the expectant mother's health insurance premiums.

Some who are speaking out against the new law are afraid that it will not help the women who need it most, and that the new law may trigger a worse situation for expectant mothers who are in an abusive relationship.

Proponents of the new law are liking that this law is more of a "Pro-Life" law and less of an "Anti-Abortion" law.

“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.” - Utah Representative Brady Brammer via KLFY

Could this new law (unique to Utah, so far) be a turning point for responsibility when it comes to pregnancy? For too many years, it has been the woman's responsibility for family planning (birth control), for the financial burden of prenatal care and birth, and for the financial and social responsibility of raising a child(ren). Don't get me wrong, there are many men who are responsible when it comes to their children: as recently as 1996, almost 20% of children (newborns to 5 years old) had their father as their primary caregiver, according to the US Department of Health and Human Services.

Would a law like this make Louisiana a better state? We already have laws concerning child support, but what do you think a new law like this do for the people of Louisiana?

KEEP READING: Here are the most popular baby names in every state

Using March 2019 data from the Social Security Administration, Stacker compiled a list of the most popular names in each of the 50 states and Washington D.C., according to their 2018 SSA rankings. The top five boy names and top five girl names are listed for each state, as well as the number of babies born in 2018 with that name. Historically common names like Michael only made the top five in three states, while the less common name Harper ranks in the top five for 22 states.

Curious what names are trending in your home state? Keep reading to see if your name made the top five -- or to find inspiration for naming your baby.

LOOK: The most popular biblical baby names

To determine the most popular biblical baby names, Stacker consulted the name origin site Behind the Name and the Social Security Administration's baby names database then ranked the top 50 names from Behind the Name's Biblical Names origins list of 564 names, based on how many babies had been given these names in 2019. Click through to find out which biblical names have stood the test of time.

READ ON: See the States Where People Live the Longest

Stacker used data from the 2020 County Health Rankings to rank every state's average life expectancy from lowest to highest. The 2020 County Health Rankings values were calculated using mortality counts from the 2016-2018 National Center for Health Statistics. The U.S. Census 2019 American Community Survey and America's Health Rankings Senior Report 2019 data were also used to provide demographics on the senior population of each state and the state's rank on senior health care, respectively.

Read on to learn the average life expectancy in each state.