New Louisiana law allows mothers to recoup pregnancy expenses from child’s father

SHREVEPORT, La. (KTAL/KMSS) – Governor John Bell Edwards signed 44 bills into law this year, and many of them go into effect on August 1st.

Among those laws is Act 439, which allows women and new mothers to recoup 50 percent of the out-of-pocket documented pregnancy-related medical expenses from the biological father.

The law covers a broad range of items, like medical testing, pharmaceuticals, and travel expenses.

State Representative for Caddo Parish, Alan Seabaugh says the process is similar to filing for child support, the first step, consulting an attorney first.

“Each pregnancy can be different, each lady is different, each mother is different, each baby is different, so instead of making a list which might exclude some things that are fairly important, we thought we would leave it open-ended and let the judge decide,” says Seabaugh.

Seabaugh believes house bill two would cover the cost even if it was a stillbirth.

He says the biological mother has two years from the child’s birth to prove clear and convincing documented evidence of paternity for reimbursement.

“We thought it was kind of important- one of the reasons I like the bill [is] because Louisiana has become a very Pro-Life State and if we’re going to outlaw abortion, there’s going to be more babies born, there needs to be financial responsibility- uh for both parents and not just one,” says Seabaugh.