Why can’t pregnant women get divorced in Missouri? This is the law that explains it
Pregnant women who want out of a marriage cannot do so if they intend to divorce their spouse in Missouri. Here’s more on the law that prevents it.
Pregnant women who want to divorce their spouses cannot do so in Missouri, one of only four states where this is still not legally possible. The others are Arizona, Arkansas, and Texas.
Under Missouri law, the wife not being pregnant is one of the requirements when getting a divorce. Judges in the state are not allowed to finalize the process if a spouse is with child.
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Why can’t pregnant women get divorced in Missouri?
This provision was supposed to ensure that child support payments would be forthcoming in the event of a divorce, and that the child would be considered legitimate.
A pregnant woman may still file for divorce in the state, but the court can only finalize it after she gives birth.
A Missouri lawmaker has introduced legislation that would change this statute so that judges would no longer be prevented from finalizing a divorce because of a pregnancy.
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Legislation introduced to update law
State Rep. Ashley Aune, a Democrat from Kansas City representing District 14 in Platte County, says that although the law was drafted with good intentions such as looking out for the welfare of the child, it did not allow women to leave if they were in situations of domestic violence.
Aune says that the law is no longer relevant in this day and age and must be updated to keep up with modern norms.
The legislator said that she learned from her constituents that pregnant women have been forced to stay in marriages despite being physically and emotionally abused.
Aune added that some women even suffered reproduction coercion, where the abusive partner exerts control over the other partner’s reproductive choices and decisions, such as preventing access to reproductive healthcare services like prenatal care or abortion services.