Sponsors (10)
The bill extends child-support obligations to the period before birth to provide mothers and children earlier financial support and clearer federal rules, but it creates significant retroactive liability for putative fathers, increases litigation and administrative burdens, and limits state flexibility.
Pregnant people and mothers: can seek child support from biological fathers beginning at conception, creating a new income source during pregnancy and after birth.
Children: may receive earlier financial support retroactive to conception, which can improve prenatal care and resources after birth.
Pregnant people: protected from invasive or harmful paternity-establishment procedures by prohibiting such measures without maternal consent and banning procedures that risk harm to the unborn child.
Individuals alleged to be fathers: face new legal and financial liability for periods before a child's birth, including potential retroactive obligations to the month of conception that could be large and unexpected.
Courts and child-support agencies: could see more disputes and litigation over establishing conception dates and retroactive claims, increasing administrative burdens and enforcement costs.
States: could lose flexibility because limits on 1115 waivers may prevent testing alternative child-support approaches that might better fit local needs or reduce administrative burdens.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Requires state child support programs to establish and enforce child support obligations for biological fathers on behalf of unborn children, starting as early as conception when requested by the pregnant parent.
Requires State child support programs to create and enforce child support obligations by biological fathers on behalf of an unborn child when the pregnant parent requests support, and to continue those obligations after birth. Obligations may begin as early as the month of conception if a physician determines the conception date, can be retroactively collected (including after paternity is later established), and must be set by a court in consultation with the pregnant parent with the child's best interests in mind. The bill also restricts federal waiver authority so states cannot use certain demonstration waivers to avoid these requirements, and defines “unborn child” as a human at any stage of development carried in the womb. The changes take effect two years after enactment and apply to relevant federal payments beginning in the first calendar quarter after that date.
Introduced January 23, 2025 by Kevin Cramer · Last progress January 23, 2025