Viral claim says Arizona won't grant pregnant spouses divorces. Experts say that's not true

A viral story this week that claims divorces in Arizona and three other states can't be finalized if a spouse is pregnant isn't true, at least for Arizona.

Missouri law on the matter became an internet sensation in 2022 after a viral tweet and subsequent article in the Riverfront Times weekly newspaper that featured a pregnant lawyer in the process of getting a divorce who criticized the law. That news blew up again in the past couple of days after a Missouri lawmaker introduced a bill to change the law.

"Map Shows US States Where Pregnant Women Can't Get Divorced," says a headline in a Feb. 28 Newsweek article claiming without evidence that Arizona is one of those states.

An online article by a Fox News-affiliated TV station in Missouri that was picked up by The Hill and other news and blog sites notes that Missouri law allows no exceptions, even in cases with domestic violence. Missouri Democratic state Rep. Ashley Aune told the station the problem was "huge" in her state and relayed the story of one constituent.

"When she found out she was pregnant and asked a lawyer if she could get a divorce, she was essentially told no. It was so demoralizing for her to hear that," Aune said.

Arizona law doesn't have such a ban

Arizona's standard petition for divorce does ask applicants if a spouse is pregnant. But no Arizona statute contains a ban on finalizing divorces if a woman is pregnant, a review of divorce laws showed. Nothing about pregnancy is mentioned in a law covering "required findings" for a dissolution of a marriage, for instance.

A retired Arizona judge and local divorce lawyer agreed no such law exists in Arizona.

"I can't think of any legal reason you couldn't do it," said Kenneth Fields, a former assistant U.S. attorney and Maricopa County Superior Court judge from 1989 to 2007 who worked for a time on family court duty.

It's possible that a judge could delay a case until a child is born to make provisions for child support or establish paternity. Arizona law presumes the husband in a marriage is the father of an unborn child unless the presumption is rebutted.

"The court may wait to finalize the parenting time and paternity issues," said Scottsdale attorney Justin Tash. In those cases, he added, a judge might separate those issues and finalize the divorce but retain jurisdiction over the case and enter orders about a child after birth.

Texas lawyer Kris Balekian Hayes, in an article for the anti-abortion group American Pregnancy Association, stated that in "Arizona, Arkansas, Missouri, and Texas the courts will not grant a divorce to a married couple if the wife is pregnant."

Asked about the claim Thursday, Hayes said the information came from the Newsweek article. The Newsweek article also says in "Alabama, Delaware, Hawaii, Indiana, Maine, Mississippi, Nebraska, South Dakota, and Wyoming, judges will likely make couples wait until the baby is born before allowing a divorce," and that "similarly, California waits to finalize a divorce until a baby is born to establish the child's paternity."

Reach the reporter at rstern@arizonarepublic.com or 480-276-3237. Follow him on X @raystern.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Does Arizona grant divorces to pregnant spouse? Expert says yes