When Your Rapist Demands Custody

[RockaFowler]

https://www.motherjones.com/crime-justice/2019/08/rapist-custody-abortion/

Tiffany’s parents supported her decision to keep the baby. Other family members urged her to consider an abortion. But she was adamant: “My son was innocent,” Tiffany, now 23, remembers telling her family.

She dropped out of school and stayed afloat working odd jobs. For almost nine years, she didn’t speak about the assault and tried to suppress the memories—until 2017, when she applied for state assistance. Without looking into the circumstances of how she became pregnant, county probate judge Gregory S. Ross granted Mirasolo joint custody and ordered Tiffany to live within 100 miles of him. Making matters worse, Ross disclosed Tiffany’s address to Mirasolo and ordered that his name be added to her son’s birth certificate, according to her lawyer, Rebecca Kiessling.

Tiffany’s experience battling her rapist for parental rights is not unique. As many as 32,000 women get pregnant through rape every year, and at least one-third decide to raise the baby instead of getting an abortion or choosing adoption. But because more than a third of all states do not terminate an assailant’s custody rights unless he’s been convicted of felony sexual assault, the women who make that choice can be forced to co-parent with their rapist. Even in states that make it easier to deny rapists’ parental rights, loopholes abound, and prosecutors and judges have broad discretion in these cases.

The other stories are just as horrific. This is an important story that needs to be seen. And this has to stop!

[mr_lebowski]

1. It's f-ed up, but States do this for economic reasons ... their own ...

As the story says, she applied for state assistance. But you see, States want 'dad' on the hook for child support, not themselves, if possible. If she died or went to jail, they want 'dad' to take the kid, not become a ward of the State.

They want him on the Certificate because they want him on the hook for financial responsibility for the kid. Not REALLY because they give a shit about his 'parental rights'.

If that makes anyone feel any better.

[calimary]

3. Not really.

[HeartlandProgressive]

7. how horrific.

[maxsolomon]

2. 32,000 pregnancies by rape? In the US alone?

Stunning number. I had no idea.

[Ohiogal]

4. Isn't that a depressing number?

[maxsolomon]

5. It sure is. It's so big I'm kind of skeptical.

Last edited Fri Aug 16, 2019, 05:31 PM - Edit history (1)

It's a "conceivable" number based on a 1990 study estimating the number of rapes at 683,000 that year and the percentage of rapes resulting in pregnancy at 4.7%.

The 2000 number is lower; 25,000 "conceivable" pregnancies.

Fairly loose numbers.

[obamanut2012]

9. Oh, it is way more than that

That is just what people know about.

[maxsolomon]

10. Per the article, they're basically guessing at the 32K number.

It's probably much lower than that.

[keithbvadu2]

6. New republican meme: Rape is a 'misdeed' by a 'parent'.

New republican meme: Rape is a ‘misdeed’ by a ‘parent’.

https://www.democraticunderground.com/100212089664

(The rapist is called a 'parent')

A GOP state lawmaker who recently gave an impassioned speech about being raped as a 16 year old says she feels attacked after a Republican colleague passed out literature describing rape as a “misdeed of the parent” that doesn’t justify having an abortion.

https://www.democraticunderground.com/10142354807

[LiberalFighter]

8. A form of slavery.

Required to live within 100 miles of the rapist. Only because there is a child. What happens if the rapist is sent to prison more than 100 miles? If there wasn't any child from the rape the woman would be able to move away, not provide her address, and if necessary have a restraining order.

Is this really in the best interest of the child? They could still require child support without providing an address of the woman. Support payments are suppose to be made to the court and they send it to the woman.

[CousinIT]

11. THIS is sexual & reproductive slavery. Republicans openly support it.

They fail to see anything wrong with it. Reference Steve King, et al.

Also:

https://www.thenation.com/article/reproductive-rights-and-long-hand-slave-breeding/