Political Quotes

“yesterday, I, along with a number of my colleagues, filed an amendment to the Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act. This amendment, based on the Rape Survivor Child Custody Act which we filed as a stand-alone bill last Congress, would provide grants to States that have laws on the books that allow women to petition for the termination of parental rights based on clear and convincing evidence that a child was conceived through rape. The goal is to encourage more States to adopt such laws. The amendment as drafted gives broad discretion to the Attorney General to determine which States are eligible for grants and which are not. For that reason, I would like to say a few words regarding our intention in drafting this amendment. Under the Rape Survivor Child Custody Act, the Attorney General is empowered to make grants to ``States that have in place a law that allows the mother of any child that was conceived through rape to seek court-order termination of the parental rights of her rapist with regard to that child, which the court is authorized to grant upon clear and convincing evidence of rape.'' Termination is defined as ``a complete and final termination of the parent's right to custody of, guardianship of, visitation with, access to, and inheritance from a child.'' There are a number of States that have such a law on the books but which also state that parental rights can be reinstated if extenuating circumstances occur.…”