House Co-Sponsorship Memoranda

House of Representatives
Session of 2013 - 2014 Regular Session

Posted:	February 12, 2013 02:27 PM
From:	Representative Angel Cruz
To:	All House members
Subject:	Legislation Ensuring the Termination of Parental Rights for Rapists (Former HB 1395)

In the near future, I intend to reintroduce legislation which would amend Title 23 (Domestic Relations) of the Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes, to ensure that rapists do not have any parental rights to a child conceived as a result of the rape. Though current law already terminates the parental rights of a biological father to a child conceived as a result of rape, an incident that occurred in my legislative district necessitates further language in statute. A court in Philadelphia ignored the provisions contained in the section of Title 23 which terminates the rights of rapists, and awarded custody of a child conceived as a result of a rape, to the rapist that perpetrated the crime. As such, my legislation would insert language in Title 23, §5329 (Consideration of criminal convictions) to prohibit the courts from allowing this outrage to occur ever again. Previous co-sponsors: YOUNGBLOOD, McGEEHAN, SABATINA, V. BROWN, CARROLL, COHEN, FLECK, GOODMAN, HARRIS, KORTZ, LONGIETTI, MILLARD, READSHAW, VULAKOVICH AND GINGRICH
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Introduced as HB945