ACTION ALERT: Rape Survivor Child Custody Act In the near future, we plan to introduce the attached legislation to address an issue faced by victims of rape who have become pregnant as a result of rape. Currently, Pennsylvania law only allows for the termination of parental rights of convicted rapists pending adoption. As it stands, if a victim of rape chooses to keep the child conceived as a result of the rape, the victim could be forced to interact with their rapist on a weekly basis through visitation. In addition, if victims choose to prosecute their abuser and retain parental rights of their child, their abuser could potentially threaten to pursue custody or visitation with the child if they do not drop the charges. With the support of the Pennsylvania Coalition Against Rape, the legislation we plan to introduce would address this problem. The legislation would allow the courts to terminate the parental rights of a convicted rapist eliminating the abuser’s access to full, partial, or supervised custody of a child conceived by rape. The victim has the opportunity to object to the termination of rights should they wish to stay in contact with the child’s biological father. Many states, in addition to the federal government, are trying to change this injustice to provide for termination upon conviction. Nationwide, an estimated 33,000 victims become pregnant as a result of rape annually. A victim of rape has already endured the rape, has been cooperative with law enforcement, and forced to relive their horrific experience. They should not be afraid to protect themselves and their child from their abuser and should not be forced to share custody or allow visitation of their child with their rapist. This is a public policy that must not stand. We ask for your support of this legislation to protect the emotional and physical safety of rape survivors and their children. Please contact our offices if you have any questions and thank you for your support. --Representative Joseph Hackett and Rep. Cherelle Parker
Posted on: Mon, 28 Apr 2014 16:47:14 +0000
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