A new Republican-backed bill in Kansas would allow pregnant women to claim child support before giving birth.
The bill acknowledges that pregnant women have basic pregnancy-related expenses.
Senate Republicans say pregnant women should not have to wait until the child is born to receive financial support from the father.
The bill, called Senate Bill 425, would change a state statute to include unborn children under the legal definition of child, according to the Kansas Reflector.
Mackenzie Haddix, a spokeswoman for Kansans for Life, said the bill could lead to fewer abortions by offering pregnant women financial support.
“Overall, no woman should ever feel that abortion is her only option,” Haddix said.
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However, abortion activists say the bill is an attempt to sneak “fetal personhood” into state law.
“This is a tactic that is used to make it easier to enact anti-abortion laws down the road,” said Taylor Morton of Planned Parenthood Great Plains Votes.
Others say the new bill would motivate women to get pregnant and encourage teenage pregnancies.
“Nobody will take advantage of this for free money,” one Breitbart commenter wrote sarcastically.
Another commenter wrote: “Before child support, women had to bear the responsibility of unmarried pregnancy by themselves, so it was a strong societal influence to NOT get [pregnant] outside of marriage.”
Lawmakers in other states are watching Kansas closely. If Senate Bill 425 passes, it will set new precedence, and force men to use protection.
