Missouri Governor Signs Flawed Divorce Bill Affecting Pregnant Women
Missouri lawmakers unanimously passed divorce legislation with acknowledged flaws that could harm pregnant women seeking to end their marriages.
JEFFERSON CITY, MISSOURI — Governor Mike Kehoe signed legislation this month aimed at improving divorce proceedings for pregnant women, but legal experts say the new law contains flaws that could harm those it was designed to help.
The bill passed unanimously through the Missouri legislature despite multiple lawmakers privately acknowledging problems with the legislation to advocates and journalists. None offered amendments to address the concerns before voting.
Unintended Consequences
The legislation was intended to clarify that Missouri judges have authority to finalize divorces during pregnancy, countering a common practice of delaying divorce proceedings until after a child’s birth. However, the actual language of the bill states that judges cannot delay finalizing a divorce based on pregnancy.
“It’s outrageous to disallow a court from delaying a final decree at the request of the pregnant party who wants to include a future child on a custody and support order,” said Gillian Chadwick, director of the Center for Children and Family Law at Washburn University in Kansas. “And at the same time, a lot of families are well served by including the future child on the orders, so they don’t have to come back to court in the future.”
Legal advocates argue that many pregnant individuals may want the option to delay their divorce proceedings to include future children in custody and support arrangements.
Privacy Concerns Remain
The new law also maintains a controversial requirement that individuals must disclose pregnancy status in their divorce petitions. Chadwick described these mandatory disclosures as “outdated, unnecessarily intrusive, and have a chilling effect on pregnant women seeking a divorce.”
The practice of waiting to finalize divorces until after childbirth is common across the United States, according to previous reporting by the Missouri Independent. The new Missouri legislation appears to eliminate judicial discretion in these cases.
Advocates say the legislative process highlighted challenges in changing laws even when lawmakers privately acknowledge problems with proposed legislation. The bill’s passage without amendments despite known issues has raised questions about the effectiveness of advocacy efforts and legislative responsiveness to constituent concerns.
The law takes effect as Missouri continues to grapple with various family law issues and their intersection with reproductive rights policies.
