Pregnant women in Missouri will have an easier time getting a divorce under a bill passed by the state legislature.
Members of the Missouri Senate voted 29-0 Tuesday to pass the bill. Because it has already passed the House and because the Senate did not change it, it now goes to Gov. Mike Kehoe who is expected to sign it into law.
"This will allow women in situations where there is violence to be able to get a divorce even though they are pregnant," said Sen. Jill Carter, R-Neosho, who spoke about the bill briefly before the vote.
While a pregnant woman can file for divorce in Missouri, under current law a judge can prevent it from being finalized.
Throughout its journey in the legislature this year, the bill did not receive a single no-vote from lawmakers.
Rep. Cecelie Williams, R-Dittmer, the bill's sponsor, is a survivor of domestic violence by her ex-husband and was denied a divorce from him while she was pregnant.
Speaking in a Senate committee on Monday, Williams spoke on how this will help not just women who are experiencing domestic violence, but also in instances of infidelity.
Williams also brought up a situation where a couple is in the middle of a divorce and the wife moves on during that process and becomes pregnant by a different partner.
"The divorce will be delayed even further because the husband isn't the father of the child. However, Missouri law still presumes him to be the father of this child, even though there is no way that he can be," Williams said.
Sen. Patty Lewis, D-Kansas City, commended Williams on the bill in committee on Monday.
"Thank you for your courage. Thank you for being an inspiration to me. You know you inspired me and my team to focus on domestic violence during the interim and what we can do," Lewis said.
The legislation made it through the House last year but ultimately didn't pass the Senate.
This year, Kehoe cited the bill in his state of the state address as something he wanted to see passed.
The legislation in HB1908.
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