Unborn Child Support Act
Bill: S.4512 | Sponsor: Sen. Cramer, Kevin (R-ND)
Policy area: Families

Summary:
Unborn Child Support Act  This bill requires states to apply child support obligations to the time period during pregnancy. This requirement is applicable retroactively based on a court order at the request of the pregnant parent and a determination by a physician of the month during which the child was conceived. Existing state requirements are applicable to these obligations, such as proof of parenthood.

To amend part D of title IV of the Social Security Act to ensure that 
 child support for unborn children is collected and distributed under 
     the child support enforcement program, and for other purposes.

    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 ``Unborn Child Support Act''.

SEC. 2. CHILD SUPPORT ENFORCEMENT ON BEHALF OF UNBORN CHILDREN.

    (a) State Plan Amendment.--Section 454 of the Social Security Act 
(42 U.S.C. 654) is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (4)(A)--
                    (A) in clause (i)--
                            (i) by inserting ``, including an unborn 
                        child,'' after ``child''; and
                            (ii) by inserting ``and'' after the 
                        semicolon; and
                    (B) in clause (ii), by inserting ``, including an 
                unborn child'' after ``other child'';
            (2) in paragraph (33), by striking ``and'' after the 
        semicolon;
            (3) in paragraph (34), by striking the period and inserting 
        ``; and'';
            (4) by inserting after paragraph (34), the following:
            ``(35) provide that the State will establish and enforce 
        child support obligations of the biological father of an unborn 
        child (and subsequent to the birth of the child) to the mother 
        of such child provided that--
                    ``(A) the mother has requested payment of such 
                child support obligations;
                    ``(B) the start date for such obligations may begin 
                with the first month in which the child was conceived, 
                as determined by a physician (and shall begin with that 
                month if the mother so requests);
                    ``(C) payments for such obligations may be 
                retroactively collected or awarded, including in the 
                case where paternity is established subsequent to the 
                birth of the child;
                    ``(D) the payment amount for such obligations shall 
                be determined by a court, in consultation with the 
                mother, taking into account the best interests of the 
                mother and child;
                    ``(E) any measure to establish the paternity of a 
                child (born or unborn) shall not be required without 
                the consent of the mother; and
                    ``(F) any measure to establish the paternity of an 
                unborn child shall not be taken if the measure poses 
                any risk of harm to the child if unborn.''; and
            (5) by adding at the end the following: ``For purposes of 
        paragraphs (4) and (35), the term `unborn child' means a member 
        of the species homo sapiens, at any stage of development, who 
        is carried in the womb.''.
    (b) Limitation of Waiver Authority.--Section 1115 of the Social 
Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1315) is amended--
            (1) in subsection (a), in the matter preceding paragraph 
        (1), by striking ``In the case of'' and inserting ``Except as 
        provided in subsection (c), in the case of'';
            (2) in subsection (b)(1), in the matter preceding 
        subparagraph (A), by striking ``In the case of'' and inserting 
        ``Except as provided in subsection (c), in the case of''; and
            (3) by striking subsection (c) and inserting the following:
    ``(c) No experimental, pilot, or demonstration project undertaken 
under subsection (a) to assist in promoting the objectives of part D of 
title IV, may permit modifications of paragraphs (4)(A)(ii) and (35) of 
section 454 to establish and enforce child support obligations of the 
biological father of an unborn child. For purposes of the preceding 
sentence, the term `unborn child' means a member of the species homo 
sapiens, at any stage of development, who is carried in the womb.''.
    (c) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section shall take 
effect on the date that is 2 years after the date of enactment of this 
Act and shall apply to payments under part D of title IV of the Social 
Security Act (42 U.S.C. 651 et seq.) for calendar quarters beginning on 
or after such date.
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