Rep. Wetmore proposes the following amendment (LC-474.AHB0445H):

Amend the bill, as and if amended, by adding an appropriately numbered SECTION to read:

SECTION X. Article 3, Chapter 17, Title 63 of the S.C. Code is amended by adding:

Section 63-17-325.   (A) A biological father of a child has a duty to pay the mother of the child the following financial obligations beginning with the date of conception:

 (1) child support payment obligations in an amount determined pursuant to Section  63-17-470;

 (2) fifty percent of the mother's pregnancy expenses.  

  (a) Any portion of a mother's pregnancy expenses paid by the  mother or the biological father reduces that parent's fifty percent obligation regardless of when the mother or biological father pays the pregnancy expenses.

   (b) Pregnancy expenses must include fifty percent of the mother's insurance premiums that are not paid by her employer or governmental program beginning from the date of conception and before the pregnancy ends, unless otherwise ordered by the court.

   (c) Item (2) does not apply if a court apportions pregnancy expenses as part of an award of child support in item (1).

(B) In the case of a mother who becomes pregnant  as a result of rape or incest, the biological father, in addition to the duties imposed by subsection (A), also is responsible for the full cost of any expenses incurred by the mother for mental health counseling arising out of the rape or incest.

(C) The duties imposed by this section accrue at the time of conception and must be applied retroactively when paternity is contested, and medical evidence establishes the paternity of the child. Interest accrues on any retroactive obligations beginning with conception until either the obligations are brought current or paid in full whichever happens first. The rate of interest must be calculated based on the applicable interest rate for money decrees and judgments in this State established annually by the South Carolina Supreme Court.