MCASA in the News: Legislation may remove parental rights in sex-assault cases

On Thursday, March 9th, the Maryland House of Delegates voted unanimously to send HB428, Rape Survivor Family Protection Act, to the Senate.  This marks major strides for survivors of sexual violence.  In a recent article, MCASA's Executive Director Lisae Jordan, Esq. commented on the progress happening in the House of Delegates:

"We're so pleased the bill came out of the House," Lisae Jordan, executive director for the Maryland Coalition Against Sexual Assault, told the University of Maryland's Capital News Service. "We look forward to seeing what happens with it in the (Senate) Judicial Proceedings Committee." The pair of companion bills has bipartisan support. The House bill has 94 co-sponsors and there are 36 co-sponsors in the Senate. The bills allow a court to decide whether a parent should have their parental rights revoked if they committed an unwanted sexual act against the other parent that resulted in conceiving a child. Current law states that a victim cannot have the parental rights of an assailant revoked if the conception of a child came from a sexual assault." -CARRIE SNURR, Associated Press

To read for full article, please click here.