This disgusting situation is true for women in 4 different states. Some women try to hide their pregnancies in a desperate attempt to escape the men holding them hostage. If their court case goes on for to long, hiding becomes impractical.
In Missouri pregnant women are expected to settle down. Ashley Aune, a woman pushing for this change, said “If you can keep someone perpetually pregnant, it has devastating consequences." Will this be changed in by 2024?
Resolves Yes if legislation is enacted during 2024 in Missouri that explicitly states judges cannot delay divorces for pregnant women.
Resolve 50% if there is legislation proposed, but not enacted during 2024
Resolves No if no legislation proposed by end of year 2024
1,000Missouri already allows pregnant woman to divorce:
"The Missouri law on divorce does not specifically bar finalizing divorces for pregnant women, but 'whether the wife is pregnant' is one of the eight pieces of information — along with things like where the parties live and when they separated — that’s required when someone files for divorce.
Nevada Smith, a St. Charles, Missouri, lawyer who handles divorces, said it makes sense that judges will not finalize divorces during a pregnancy because a child would impact the custody and child support terms of a divorce. And divorces usually take months, even in the rare ones without contested issues.
"You kind of need to know if you have two children or if you have three,' he said.
Or a child born with special needs could change the equation, too.
The situation is similar in other states, said Kris Balekian Hayes, a Dallas-based lawyer who handles divorces. She said that Texas judges also don’t finalize divorces during a pregnancy of one of the spouses. Exactly which other states have similar practices is hard to determine since it’s not spelled out in divorce laws."
(https://apnews.com/article/pregnancy-divorce-legislation-missouri-texas-b623499bf2145f82ff46d91773d45fec)
Please clarify the resolution criteria, i.e. to "Missouri passes legislation explicitly allowing judges to finalize divorces during a spouse's pregnancy."
@HthePenguin My understanding is that judges can finalize divorces during a spouse's pregnancy already. I'll try to better define the resolution criteria, but 99% sure there is no law preventing judges from making that decision.