Bill would put Louisiana fathers on the hook for half of pregnancy cost

Published: April 19, 2023

By: Gabby Jimenez and Claire Sullivan | LSU Manship School News Service

BATON ROUGE, La. — The House Civil Law and Procedure Committee moved forward a bill that would allow mothers to recuperate half of the out-of-pocket, pregnancy-related medical expenses from the father of their child.

After the baby is born, the mother would have two years to recover these expenses, which would not include costs covered by insurance. Under present law, women have no avenue for this action.

“I think this is a very good bill to really help the pregnant women in our state who have no way to recover these medical expenses,” said Rep. Lawrence “Larry” Frieman, R-Abita Springs, the bill’s author.

The bill requires that paternity be proven by clear and convincing evidence, with the burden of proof requiring paternity to be more likely true than untrue.

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