State Rep. Cecelie Williams, a Republican from Dittmer, testifies before a House committee during the 2025 legislative session. (Tim Bomel/Missouri House News Service).
one bill On Thursday, the House unanimously approved a Missouri law that would allow women to divorce while pregnant for the second year in a row.
Rep. Cecelie Williams, a Republican from Dittmer who co-sponsored the legislation with Democratic Rep. Raychel Proudie of Ferguson, highlighted the dangers of keeping women in long-term legal ties to their abusers.
“This bill will protect the lives of women and children who have experienced abuse,” Williams told her colleagues during Thursday’s House debate. “This is about giving survivors like me the opportunity to find safety, begin to heal, and take back the lives that were stolen.”
When the bill passed without opposition, the audience erupted in applause.
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Domestic violence survivor Williams says Judge refuses to finalize her divorce She shared her story of abuse on the House floor last year when she was pregnant with her fourth child. Her words moved some colleagues to tears.
While there is nothing stopping a Missourian from filing for divorce when one party is pregnant, Current regulations Many courts have interpreted this to prevent the final dissolution of a marriage from occurring after the birth of a child so that a custody agreement for that child can be entered into in the first place.
Democratic Rep. Ken Jamison of Gladstone said that after hearing Williams’ gripping testimony last year, he conducted an informal poll of about five judges and five attorneys with a combined 200 years of experience practicing family law in Missouri.
Jamison, also an attorney, asked if they believed Missouri law prohibited courts from finalizing divorces while a woman was pregnant. Half said yes; half said yes. Half said no.
Jamieson told The Independent: “This bill will provide them with clear information and ensure that pregnant women have a personal choice to finalize their divorce while pregnant.”
While the bill applies to anyone, survivors of domestic violence have been at the center of the discussion.
“Pregnancy can be a particularly dangerous time for women experiencing domestic violence, as many women report that the abuse began or intensified while they were pregnant,” Jessica Hill, chief public affairs officer for the Missouri Coalition Against Domestic and Sexual Violence, testified before the House Children and Families Committee last month.
One in six women has experienced abuse According to estimates from the March of Dimes, damage occurs first during pregnancy. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists recommends that women be screened for signs of intimate partner violence during their doctor visits, as people who have been abused often see any signs Violence can escalate during pregnancy or postpartum.
Homicide is leading cause of pregnancy-related deaths missouri and Nationwide.
Hannibal Women’s Shelter board chairwoman Rose Gattas told a House committee she found abuse, including financial control, emotional abuse and physical violence, intensified when an abuser learned a woman was pregnant.
Gatas said the law removes a key legal outlet and strips women of their dignity and agency.
“Ending this ban does not encourage divorce,” she said. “It just allows the law to respond to the reality of the situation with compassion and common sense.”
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Danielle Drake, a family law attorney in Lake of the Ozarks, said she has never seen a judge sign off on a final divorce settlement when a pregnancy was involved. She now has several clients in this situation.
In one case, she said, the couple had been trying to finalize their divorce for four years. The woman had become pregnant twice during this period and wanted to remarry, while the man had a child with a new partner to whom he was engaged.
“It just prevents them from moving forward and being the best parent or best co-parent they can be,” said Drake, who advises clients not to purchase a home or vehicle until the divorce is final.
She said it creates a logistical nightmare for families who want to divorce sooner, stressing that her support for the bill is a support for families who have choices.
A few years ago, Drake was told that she and her then-husband couldn’t divorce until their son was born. If given the choice, she might wait until her son is born to finalize the divorce so she can stay on her spouse’s health insurance and develop a custody plan more quickly.
But the choice was made for her, and it wasn’t the right one.
Last year, the same legislation was defeated on the final day of the House session when the bill was returned amendment Republican state Sen. Mike Moon of Ash Grove proposed requiring the total amount of alimony received minus the amount collected in Social Security.
“We would allow women to get divorced during pregnancy but then tie them down with alimony limits,” Williams said of the amendment, which some House members have dubbed the “I Hate My Ex-Wife Act.”
Williams believes the bill will go to the governor this year.
“This law has to change. It has kept me married for too long,” Williams said. “As a domestic violence survivor, it takes seven times for a woman, or anyone, to leave her abuser. It took me far more than that. When I finally had the courage to leave, and was told I couldn’t get a divorce, I was heartbroken beyond measure.”