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Senate Co-Sponsorship Memoranda
Senate of Pennsylvania
Session of 2021 - 2022
Regular Session
MEMORANDUM
| Posted: | May 11, 2022 01:27 PM |
|---|---|
| From: | Senator Lisa M. Boscola |
| To: | All Senate members |
| Subject: | Prenatal and Postpartum Support |
| With the potential for the Supreme Court to overturn Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey the State needs to do a better job confirming paternity at birth. In situations of unmarried births, the responsibility falls to the mother. In the near future, I intend to introduce legislation requiring the State to do more to require mandatory financial support for mothers during prenatal and postpartum stages of pregnancy in addition to the responsibility to financially support the child after birth. This starts with more effectively identifying paternity and holding fathers accountable. The legislation will require the mother to reasonably identify the person who is responsible for getting them pregnant. A mother shall reserve the right to waive this requirement for any reason at any time, including cases of pregnancy due to rape or incest. The current law presumes paternity for married couples. In situations where the mother is unmarried the law allows for voluntary acknowledgment for unconfirmed paternity. The State needs to be more effective in resolving these matters so that paternal obligations can be started at birth. The legislation will direct the Department of Health to require paternity testing within 24 hours following birth, administered by hospital staff, in situations where paternity is unconfirmed. Samples would be checked against existing State maintained DNA databases, or any court ordered DNA samples of an alleged father. The financial burdens of pregnancy and raising a child are significant. In the United States, it costs roughly $10,000 – $30,000 to birth a child. In Pennsylvania, a vaginal birth with insurances costs about $6,500 while one without insurance costs $12,300. A C-section costs $10,300 with insurance and $18,800 without insurance. Moreover, studies show it costs approximately $13,000 per year to raise a child. My legislation will, at the very least, mandate a 50% contribution to the costs of all stages of pregnancy to the parent carrying the child to term. The average total cost for prenatal care throughout a typical pregnancy is about $2,000, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation. This figure includes about 12 doctors' visits at $100 to $200 each, as well as routine blood tests, urinalysis and at least one ultrasound -- usually done at about 20 weeks. To become pregnant it takes two people, and if our Commonwealth is going to require those two people to become parents, then the mother will not be forced to solely foot the bill. Please join me in co-sponsoring this legislation. |