All Male Committee Ensures Rapists Still Have Parental Rights to Victims’ Kids - Broadly
For the ninth time, a bill that would have created a process to take away parental rights from a woman’s rapist failed to pass Maryland’s General Assembly—thanks to a group of male lawmakers. Currently, if a woman conceives a child as a result of a sexual assault, she has to contend with her alleged attacker over custody rights or adoption planning.
Two versions of the bill, dubbed the Rape Survivor Family Protection Act, made their respective ways through the House of Delegates and the State Senate. Because the language differed slightly in both bills, a negotiating committee was created on April 10—the last day of the session—from both chambers to finalize the text. No women were appointed to the committee.
Sen. Cheryl Kagan stood over the group, watching. “Although I have great respect for my colleagues, not having women on the committee was tone-deaf,” she said.
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