Pregnancy Empowerment Act of 2024

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