By In a landmark move, Kentucky legislators have pushed forward a groundbreaking bill that would recognize the rights of unborn children by allowing child support to commence from pregnancy.
This initiative aligns with the efforts of several Republican-dominated states to affirm the legal and personal rights of fetuses.
The proposed legislation, which recently won the endorsement of the Senate Families and Children Committee, paves the way for parents to claim child support for up to a year post-birth, covering pregnancy-related costs. This decision marks a significant step forward in the bill’s journey, introduced in mid-January and pending committee review for over a month. Kentucky’s Republican supermajorities in both Senate and House are spearheading this initiative.
Kentucky joins the ranks of at least six states proposing similar measures, following Georgia’s precedent of allowing child support claims retroactive to conception. Additionally, Georgia and Utah have introduced tax benefits for expectant parents, with similar proposals under consideration in four other states.
This movement echoes the Alabama Supreme Court’s recent ruling, which classifies frozen embryos as legally protected children, underscoring the anti-abortion crusade’s longstanding objective to grant embryos and fetuses equal legal and constitutional status as their carriers.
Championed by Republican Senator Whitney Westerfield, a fervent anti-abortion advocate, Kentucky’s Senate Bill 110 seeks to extend child support retroactively to encompass the fetus.
Westerfield, in his address to the committee, passionately argued, “That child is a human life. The obligation to support begins with the inception of life, and we must pursue that.”
The bill, however, has been amended to limit its scope, applying solely to child support orders issued within a year of the child’s birth. Westerfield clarified, “This doesn’t apply to orders made after a year and a day post-birth. It’s strictly for orders within the first year.”
The bill, nonetheless, has stirred concerns among abortion rights advocates in Kentucky. Tamarra Wieder, representing Planned Parenthood Alliance Advocates in Kentucky, warned that such legislation is a stepping stone towards establishing legal personhood for the unborn, akin to the Alabama court decision.
Wieder argues that the legislature should focus on more inclusive benefits like expanded insurance and paid leave for expectant individuals, rather than pushing personhood through child support.
One challenge the bill faces relates to the potential additional costs for county attorneys enforcing these child support orders, which cannot utilize federal funding typically reserved for child support enforcement. Westerfield acknowledges this hurdle.
The bill’s proponents may seek state funding to manage these extra expenses, with the state’s budget for the next two years slated for finalization in March.
For abortion opponents, this bill is a monumental step in acknowledging the existence and rights of the unborn. Senator Danny Carroll, chairman of the committee, asserts, “Life starts at conception. The responsibility to care for a child begins there. It’s fundamentally fair to enforce this.”
This bill symbolizes a significant stride in the ongoing battle for the rights of the unborn, a core issue for the pro-life movement.
