In 31 states a rapist can have parental rights just as other fathers can.

[madfloridian]

Seems it can be used as a bargaining chip...the mother won't press so hard for charges if the rapist agrees not to seek parental rights.

From CNN:

Raped, pregnant and ordeal not over

While a student in my final year of college, at age 21, I was raped. I have dissected that moment -- the horrifying moment that I became a "victim" -- from every possible angle. I have poked and prodded, examined and re-examined. Regrettably, I have even suspected myself in a desperate, ultimately futile attempt to understand how I became a victim.

...Eight years after my rape, I find myself on trial against ignorance again. Rep. Todd Akin's recent comments that "legitimate rape" rarely results in pregnancy not only flout scientific fact but, for me, cut deeper. Akin has de-legitimized my rape.

You see, nine months after my rape, I gave birth to a beautiful little girl. You could say she was conceived in rape; she was. But she is also so much more than her beginnings. I blissfully believed that after I finally had decided to give birth to and to raise my daughter, life would be all roses and endless days at the playground. I was wrong again.

It would not be long before I would learn firsthand that in the vast majority of states -- 31 -- men who father through rape are able to assert the same custody and visitation rights to their children that other fathers enjoy. When no law prohibits a rapist from exercising these rights, a woman may feel forced to bargain away her legal rights to a criminal trial in exchange for the rapist dropping the bid to have access to her child.

I was not aware of such laws, and my mind is reeling.

[madfloridian]

1. Some of the comments after the article are pathetic.

[Enthusiast]

2. I have lost almost any respect I ever had for this nation. nt

[No Elephants]

3. I'm guessing those same states voted for a homophobic amendment to their state constitutions.

[checks-n-balances]

4. I thought pregnancy wasn't supposed to result from rape, right?

What a shock that Akin & Co. never cared to be outraged about this. :sarcasm:

Just a few minutes before I checked DU today, the horrible thought occurred to me that this a rapist could find out a pregnancy resulted with the victim and he would be able to terrorize her about this very thing. I did not imagine that this was actually law in 31 states.

Who the hell are the misogynists who have done this??

[No Elephants]

5. Obviously, she must be lying about having been raped then. Duh.

:sarcasm:

[PurgedVoter]

6. The smoking gun talking point.

Republicans and conservatives love them some of them extreme situation example rants. Let's tell it their way.

First of it has to be about men and how unfair it is, or they never seem to get it. After it is established how it hurts them, they may bring in women as being unfairly treated, but first off it needs to be unfair to a man. It is usually someone getting something that you are not getting right now. It can also be money spent on stuff that does not help you or someone preventing you from doing something.

if you can stick an odd conjecture in that hardly makes any sense, you add to the perfection of the conservative rant.
It also needs to parse a bit oddly. Hard to describe, but if you have ever gotten on a conservatives joke or mailing list, you know what I mean. Sadly they also have to be a pretty narrow view and a worst possible outcome for a very selfish person. Even a glint of compassion or understanding will ruin such a rant. It also seems to need at least one word misspelled so badly that you have to wonder if they can even see red underlines in the middle of text. So here is my attempt at turning this issue into a conservative rant.


The bastards who control the house on capitol hill want to make you raise criminals children.

If a rapist rapes your wife, they want to force you to raise that child as yours even if having the child will kill your wife. If you try to save your wife, if the rapists bastard child is going to kill her, cause like his blood is the wrong type or something, they want to throw you and your wife in jail. That is right, they want the damned government to make you and your wife have a rapists baby, pay for all the doctor bills and even raise the child. Later on if the rapist wants to, there are states controlled by the same damned party that controls the house on capitol hill, where the rapist bastard who held your wife down, can then take you to court for rights over that child. If you decide to take care of the rapist bastards kid and love it as your own, because you have a big heart, these bastards in the house want to give the man who raped your wife or even 12 year old daughter more rights than you have. Those bastards who control the damned house on capitol hill care more about rapists and their children than they care about you, your wife or your daughter. Someone should really stop those rapist lovevers in the house. If they get there way, there are 31 states where a rapist can rape your wife, force you to pay all the expenses and doctor bills an then come and claim the child. In the rest of the states, lucky you will foot all the bills and the child is all yours to raise, feed and pay for.