Shauna Prewitt says her rapist tried to seek custody of the child conceived during the assault. Shauna PrewittThe debate over Rep. Todd Akin's widely condemned comments on "legitimate rape" has largely centered on abortion and Republican efforts to outlaw the procedure, even in cases of rape. But the controversy has also uncovered a little-discussed issue: When some rape victims do choose to give birth to a child conceived through sexual assault, they find that the legal door is left wide open for their victimization to continue. It sounds unfathomable, but in many states the law makes it possible for rapists to assert their parental rights and use custody proceedings as a weapon against their victims.
Shauna Prewitt says it happened to her, in Akin’s home state of Missouri. In 2004, Prewitt was in the midst of her senior year in college when she was allegedly raped. Nine months later, she gave birth to a baby girl, who today is seven and a half. Shortly after her daughter's birth, when Prewitt started pursuing charges against her accused rapist, he suddenly served her with papers requesting custody of their daughter. At first, Prewitt thought it was so ridiculous she laughed it off. Then, the truth sank in:"I was struck with terror, not only with the idea of letting my child be around him, but also having to spend the next 18 years of my life tied to him," she says.
not surprising that the laws involving women and their rapist tend to favor the rapist, is it because the legislators know this is a legitimate issue and to protect their boys club of abusers, they pass judgement on women across the board.
suggesting they are suspect of lying about their attack, we've seen it played over and over through the years, the lady is assaulted the accused gets a women lawyer for the suggestion that a woman believes him, then she sets about criminalizing her and normalizing the defendent. crab in the basket attitude some women take against their own gender.
IMO most egregious is today's right wing woman, embracing those within that party that want nothing for women, don't think they any longer want that old staple "barefoot and pregnant.
do the men on the right have mommy issues and the women suffer from Stockholm Syndrome? my first guess.
At least Missouri has a law on the books allowing the court to step in and terminate parental rights in a case like Prewitt's—at least 27 states have no statutes to protect the mothers of rape-conceived children. Meanwhile, victims continue to come forward with horror stories of rapists using the threat of custody actions to blackmail and intimidate their victims into not pressing criminal charges.
a law on the books, when have they dusted it off? those women who would vote for that ticket, is it worth it, you can be in this position with no remedy because your party see's no problem, like Romney said "I would make no changes", speaks volumes to his character. guess Annie didn't have her finger on the pulse of female mindset, to far down for her to look?
