[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 9196 Introduced in House (IH)]

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118th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 9196

 To prohibit consideration of pregnancy status when filing for divorce.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             July 30, 2024

   Mr. Cleaver (for himself, Mrs. Foushee, Mrs. Peltola, Ms. Lee of 
California, Ms. Brownley, Ms. Kamlager-Dove, Mrs. Hayes, Mr. Johnson of 
 Georgia, Ms. Williams of Georgia, Ms. Tokuda, Mr. Casten, Mr. Trone, 
   Mrs. Dingell, Ms. Tlaib, Mr. Thanedar, Ms. McCollum, Mrs. Watson 
Coleman, Ms. Velazquez, Mr. Espaillat, Ms. Ocasio-Cortez, Mr. Davis of 
     North Carolina, Ms. Ross, Ms. Adams, Ms. Bonamici, Ms. Lee of 
 Pennsylvania, Mrs. Fletcher, Ms. Crockett, and Ms. Norton) introduced 
    the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the 
                               Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To prohibit consideration of pregnancy status when filing for divorce.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Pregnancy Empowerment Act of 2024''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds as follows:
            (1) Throughout calendar year 2024, national news media 
        reported that several States, in practice, will not finalize a 
        divorce for pregnant people.
            (2) Many States, in practice, delay, prohibit, or limit 
        divorce until the baby's delivery, allowing the court to 
        determine paternity status and parental rights.
            (3) Non-Invasive Prenatal Paternity (NIPP) tests can now 
        determine paternal status with blood samples from the mother 
        and alleged father and achieve an accuracy rate of 99.9 
        percent.
            (4) Pregnant people are at an increased risk of 
        experiencing intimate partner violence.
            (5) Women of color are disproportionately impacted by 
        domestic violence and are more likely to die at the hands of an 
        abuser.
            (6) Black women are murdered by men at three times the rate 
        of their white counterparts.
            (7) Black women living with a partner are six times more 
        likely to experience domestic violence.
            (8) An estimated 324,000 pregnant people experience 
        intimate partner violence in the United States per year.
            (9) When reported and detected, prevalence of intimate 
        partner violence during pregnancy can range as high as 35 
        percent.
            (10) Reproductive coercion can prevent women in abusive 
        marriages from finalizing a divorce, keeping women in abusive 
        relationships.
            (11) One in 6 abused women were first abused during 
        pregnancy.
            (12) Homicide is the second leading cause of traumatic 
        death for pregnant and recently pregnant people, accounting for 
        31 percent of maternal injury deaths.
            (13) Women living in poverty are twice as likely to 
        experience intimate partner violence.
            (14) People experiencing intimate partner violence often 
        rely on the emergency room due to financial concerns and 
        coercion and control from their abusers.
            (15) Divorce has a profound economic impact, often 
        implicating interstate commerce and assets.
            (16) The median American divorce costs $7,000 and the 
        average American divorce costs $15,000.
            (17) Contested divorces involving child custody debate can 
        cost over $100,000.
            (18) Of the $27.4 billion reported by the FY 2022 Office of 
        Child Support Services Preliminary Data Report, $1.4 billion 
        came from interstate cases.
            (19) Divorces dissolve many financial assets, many of which 
        may cross State lines, including--
                    (A) real estate;
                    (B) outstanding debts;
                    (C) investments;
                    (D) retirement savings;
                    (E) property; and
                    (F) business interests.
            (20) Article 1, Section 8, Clause 3 of the U.S. 
        Constitution provides Congress the power to regulate interstate 
        commerce.

SEC. 3. PROHIBITION AGAINST CONSIDERATION OF PREGNANCY STATUS WHEN 
              FILING FOR DIVORCE.

    No State may take pregnancy status into consideration when 
considering the filing of a petition for divorce.
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