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Version 00 · Introduced in House · Feb 6, 2025
Unborn Child Support Act This bill requires states to apply child support obligations to the time period during pregnancy. This requirement is applicable retroactively based on a court order at the request of the pregnant parent and a determination by a physician of the month during which the child was conceived. Existing state requirements are applicable to these obligations, such as proof of parenthood.
People & committees
Rep. Tenney, Claudia [R-NY-24] · R–NY
Legislative record
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Referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means.
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Primary sources
Text links open the official source. We also preserved the text version used in the PlainBill explanation below.
Source last updated: Dec 5, 2025. Consult Congress.gov for the current record.
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PlainBill explanation
Based on the full Introduced in House · 2025-02-06 text. This explanation has not received human editorial review. This overview describes the proposal’s major provisions; it does not establish what its real-world effects would be.
The proposed Unborn Child Support Act would require states to establish and enforce a biological father’s child support obligations during pregnancy and after birth when the mother requests payment. Support would have to start with the month of conception if she requests that start date. Courts would determine payment amounts in consultation with the mother, taking into account her interests and the child’s interests.
This Act may be cited as the Unborn Child Support Act.
provide that the State will establish and enforce child support obligations of the biological father of an unborn child (and subsequent to the birth of the child) to the mother of such child provided that— (A) the mother has requested payment of such child support obligations;
(B) the start date for such obligations may begin with the first month in which the child was conceived, as determined by a physician (and shall begin with that month if the mother so requests);
(D) the payment amount for such obligations shall be determined by a court, in consultation with the mother, taking into account the best interests of the mother and child;
The bill would add express references to an unborn child in two existing state-plan provisions of the Social Security Act and add a requirement to establish and enforce support when the mother requests payment.
Section 454 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 654) is amended— (1) in paragraph (4)(A)— (A) in clause (i)— (i) by inserting , including an unborn child, after child; and (ii) by inserting and after the semicolon; and (B) in clause (ii), by inserting , including an unborn child after other child;
(35) provide that the State will establish and enforce child support obligations of the biological father of an unborn child (and subsequent to the birth of the child) to the mother of such child provided that— (A) the mother has requested payment of such child support obligations;
Support could begin with the month of conception, as determined by a physician. It would have to begin with that month if the mother requests it.
(B) the start date for such obligations may begin with the first month in which the child was conceived, as determined by a physician (and shall begin with that month if the mother so requests);
Payments could be awarded or collected for past periods, including when the biological father is legally established after the child is born. The provision permits these retroactive payments; it does not require them in every case.
(C) payments for such obligations may be retroactively collected or awarded, including in the case where paternity is established subsequent to the birth of the child;
A court would set the payment amount in consultation with the mother and consider the best interests of both the mother and child.
(D) the payment amount for such obligations shall be determined by a court, in consultation with the mother, taking into account the best interests of the mother and child;
A measure to establish paternity—determining who the father is—could not be required without the mother’s consent, whether the child has been born or is unborn.
(E) any measure to establish the paternity of a child (born or unborn) shall not be required without the consent of the mother;
A measure to establish paternity before birth could not be taken if it poses any risk of harm to the unborn child.
(F) any measure to establish the paternity of an unborn child shall not be taken if the measure poses any risk of harm to the child if unborn.
For the specified state-plan provisions, the bill would define “unborn child” as a member of the human species carried in the womb at any stage of development. The proposed restriction on experimental projects uses the same definition.
For purposes of paragraphs (4) and (35), the term unborn child means a member of the species homo sapiens, at any stage of development, who is carried in the womb.
For purposes of the preceding sentence, the term unborn child means a member of the species homo sapiens, at any stage of development, who is carried in the womb.
The bill would replace section 1115(c) with a restriction on experimental, pilot, or demonstration projects under section 1115(a) that promote the objectives of the child support program. Those projects could not modify the specified requirements concerning establishment and enforcement of a biological father’s support obligations for an unborn child.
(3) by striking subsection (c) and inserting the following: (c) No experimental, pilot, or demonstration project undertaken under subsection (a) to assist in promoting the objectives of part D of title IV, may permit modifications of paragraphs (4)(A)(ii) and (35) of section 454 to establish and enforce child support obligations of the biological father of an unborn child.
If enacted, the amendments would take effect two years after enactment. They would apply to payments under the specified Social Security Act program for calendar quarters beginning on or after that effective date.
(c) Effective date The amendments made by this section shall take effect on the date that is 2 years after the date of enactment of this Act and shall apply to payments under part D of title IV of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 651 et seq.) for calendar quarters beginning on or after such date.
The supplied official-actions snapshot, updated December 5, 2025, records introduction in the House and referral to the House Committee on Ways and Means on February 6, 2025.
Source snapshot updated 2025-12-05T21:45:14Z. 2025-02-06: Referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means. 2025-02-06: Introduced in House
A closer look
Reviewed version: Introduced in House · 2025-02-06. These findings describe provisions and who may benefit; they are not judgments of waste, corruption, or motive.
This review covers the supplied bill text. “None identified” does not rule out provisions in later versions or accompanying reports and disclosures.
Provisions outside the bill’s main subject, or policy changes attached to appropriations.
None identified in the reviewed text
No unrelated provision or policy change attached to appropriations was identified in the complete supplied introduced text. This conclusion is limited to that version and does not establish absence in other versions or accompanying materials.
Spending directed to particular recipients or places outside ordinary competitive or formula-based allocation.
None identified in the reviewed text
No congressionally directed spending for particular recipients or places was identified in the complete supplied introduced text. This conclusion is limited to that version and does not establish absence in other versions or accompanying materials.
Narrow exceptions, exemptions, or preferential treatment that warrant a closer look.
None identified in the reviewed text
No materially narrow preferential carve-out was identified in the complete supplied introduced text. Its support eligibility and consent protections concern the main policy’s intended beneficiaries. This conclusion does not establish absence in other versions or accompanying materials.
Full text preserved for this analysis. Legislative record snapshot: Dec 5, 2025. How PlainBill uses AI