Utah lawmakers pushed several bills that would be truly pro-life and not just anti-abortion, a report said.
Breitbart reported that Utah's GOP has pushed House Bill 113, 253, and 231 to protect pregnant women and their unborn babies. KUER highlighted that the said bills were proposed ahead of the March For Life scheduled over the weekend.
The House Bill 113, sponsored by Representative Brady Brammer, aims to help pregnant women in their finances by putting the spotlight on their unborn babies' biological father to provide 50% of the costs entailed in the pregnancy. Bill 113 was voted on 8-1 by the Utah legislators, of which Representative Brian King was the sole objector, as per Salt Lake Tribune.
The Salt Lake Tribune clarified that the financing pertains to "a pregnant mother's insurance premiums and all medical costs related to the pregnancy from conception to birth" along with abortion expenses he consented to that would endanger the mother's life or was a result of incest or rape.
However, this is only applicable once the paternity has been established. In such a case, The Salt Lake Tribune said, the judge would then require him to pay his share of expenses evidenced by receipts provided by the mother, most likely after birth.
Brammer explained that the bill intends to increase "the responsibility for men in the bringing of life into the world" and is actually a result of him getting "sick" of the "battle between pro-life and pro-choice."
"Oftentimes there's this battle between pro-life and pro-choice where some of the pro-life positions really turn into a perception that it's just anti-abortion. I kind of got sick of those things and I thought what could we do that's really a pro-life thing?...and so that's where this bill came from," Brammer raised during the bill's presentation with the House Judiciary Committee.
Brammer, as per The Salt Lake Tribune, is aware that women will be faced with the legal system's challenges for the filing of the 50% claim. He raised that non-profit groups and shelters, as well as, pro bono legal clinics would be able to help them in the legal process.
In line with this, The Salt Lake Tribune cited Representative Lowry Snow who raised concerns on the matter as collection of payments through the court system could be "pretty daunting" for some women.
"My heart goes out to these women who find themselves in this situation, who don't have that support and help and have the expenses and maybe don't have the ability to cover it and the thoughts of actually having to sue someone to collect it are daunting. However, having said that, I think this is a really important step in the right direction," he said.
On the other hand, House Bill 253 requires women to affirm completion of the state's online pre-abortion program before ending their pregnancy "under penalty of perjury." Breitbart reported that the online program is required by the state. However, there are reports that the program has a loophole that allows women to circumvent the course and be able to print the certificate of completion.
House Bill 253 sponsor Representative Steve Christiansen explained he wans women to be fully aware of what will happen should they decide to end their pregnancy.
Representative Cheryl Acton's House Bill 231, Breitbart reported, criminalizes the transportation of aborted or miscarried fetal remains outside the state of Utah to ensure they are ""handled with dignity and not treated as medical waste." Burials was the only exception given in the bill for transporting the remains.
