A new Ohio bill would allow women to sue men who contribute to an unwanted pregnancy.
The bill comes just after Ohio banned abortion after the 6-week mark. Why should women be able to sue men when they become pregnant? The man did not act alone.
An NBC affiliate reported, Under Senate Bill 262, pregnant Ohioans can file a civil suit no later than five years after conception against whoever caused them to have an unintended pregnancy – and anyone who “aids or abets” the impregnator – regardless of the circumstances.
If the judge finds that the pregnancy was unintended, the father must provide the mother with a minimum of $5,000 plus her attorney fees.
In order for a pregnancy to exist the man and woman must have engaged in sexual intercourse; unless she was raped. If she was, then the father would be prosecuted and sued for rape.
The bill’s sponsor, state Senator Tina Maharath said, “Too often, this cost is solely the mother’s to bear, especially in the case of an unintended pregnancy – However, the father shares equal responsibility for the pregnancy and it is only right that he pays equally for it.”
Most would agree that the biological father of a child should be required to pay support if he chooses to leave the relationship and abandon his offspring. However, this payment is not a punishment for causing a pregnancy, it’s money meant to support the child.