Legislative Alert! Hearing Today (March 8, 2016) on SB 593 - Rape Survivor Family Protection Act
Legislative Alert! Hearing Today (March 8, 2016) on SB 593 - Rape Survivor Family Protection Act
Mar 08th, 2016
Five percent of rape victims of reproductive age (age 12-45) become pregnant as a result of rape, with the majority of pregnancies in adolescents. Under current Maryland state law, rapists who impregnate women in the course of sexually assaulting them have the same full parental rights as other biological parents.
Senate Bill 593 would change this. The Rape Survivor Family Protection Act, Senate Bill 593, sponsored by Senator Jamie Raskin and 33 Senators, will allow rape victims who become pregnant as a result of rape to ask the family law court to end the parental rights of their rapist. The high standard of clear and convincing proof used in other termination of parental rights cases would be required. Rape victims should have to meet the same standard used in other termination of parental rights cases – no more, no less. Additionally, if a rapist-parent cannot be located, this bill would prohibit a court from ordering that a victim's name be published in the newspaper as is currently required.
MCASA continues to support legislation that limits the parental rights of rapists when the child was conceived through rape and to increase protections for rape survivors who have a child conceived through rape.
Senate Bill 593 is being heard today, Tuesday, March 8th. Please call the members of the Judicial Proceedings Committee to show support for rape survivors who choose to have a child conceived through rape.
Your voices make a difference - please call or email this week. The email addresses and telephone numbers for the committee members are provided below for your convenience, and we invite you to visit http://www.mcasa.org/law-public-policy/legislative-agenda/ to learn more about this year’s MCASA legislative agenda.
Thank you, as always, for your support for sexual assault survivors.
Lisae
Lisae C. Jordan
Executive Director and Counsel
MARYLAND SENATE JUDICIAL PROCEEDINGS COMMITTEE PHONE AND EMAILS:
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