Women's Healthcare Update- 4/18/23
By
Joleen E Smith
Posted: 2023-04-17T22:43:00Z
By Catherine Maxwell, LWVTX Issue Chair for Women's Healthcare and Reproductive Rights
LWVTX signed on to support HB 70, which removes the “pink tax” from feminine hygiene products as well as diapers. The support campaign is run by the Texas Women’s Foundation. Another bill supported by LWVTX, HB 916, would allow women to obtain a twelve month supply of birth control vs. every thirty days. It has passed the House and is on to the Senate where it may need support. The pilot Doula services for Medicaid patients bill, HB 465, was also heard Monday and we are awaiting results.
HB 3317 and SB 2193 are bills that would start a grant program to establish and operate Federally qualified health centers for low income and uninsured Texans. The goal is to help support small businesses that cannot provide health insurance for their employees. It has passed out of committee in the House.
A public hearing will be held on HB 4715. This is a wild one with many moving parts. This bill “requires child support orders to calculate child support based on earliest date of conception” according to Avow. But also, it provides a victim restitution path if the pregnancy is the result of a sexual offense as determined by a judge.
The defendant would be required to pay the child birth costs as well as support from conception until the child reaches 18, or the adoption costs. If the defendant acknowledges paternity, the support would be 200% of any formula for child support. If the defendant does not acknowledge paternity, the judge can order up to 350% of the child support formula.
Here’s the catch—note this is about a sexual offense—if the defendant is incarcerated, they do not have to pay until they have fulfilled their sentence. Also, if it is discovered that the mother is wrong about the father, then the real father will be found, and Father #2 will have to reimburse Father #1.