,i  #aacth ,,congress  #ast ,session    
,h4 ,r4 #bggb  ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of  
,,representatives  ,july #bb1 #bjac ,ms4
 ,wasserman ,schultz 7for herself and   
,mr4 ,marino7 introduced the following  
bill2 which was referred to the         
,committee on the ,judiciary  ,a ,,bill 
,to direct the ,attorney ,general to    
make grants to ,states that have in     
place laws that terminate the parental  
rights of men who father children       
through rape4  #a4 ,short title ,this   
,act may be cited as the ,rape ,survivor
 ,child ,custody ,act4  #b4 ,findings   
,congress finds the following3  7#a7    
,men who father children through rape   
should be prohibited from visiting or   
having custody of those children4  7#b7 
,according to several studies1 it is    
estimated that there are between #be1jjj
 and #cb1jjj rape-related pregnancies   
annually in the ,united ,states4  7#c7  
,a substantial number of women choose to
 raise their child conceived through    
rape and1 as a result1 may face custody 

battles with their rapists4  7#d7       
,according to one study1 #cb4c percent  
of women who were raped and became      
pregnant as a result of the rape kept   
their child4  7#e7 ,another study found 
that1 of the #gc percent of women who   
became pregnant as a result of a rape   
and carried their pregnancies to term1  
#fd percent raised their children4  7#f7
 ,rape is one of the most               
under-prosecuted serious crimes1 with   
estimates of criminal conviction        
occurring in less than #e percent of    
rapes4  7#g7 ,the clear and convincing  
evidence standard is the most common    
standard for termination of parental    
rights among the #ej ,states1           
territories1 and the ,district of       
,columbia4  7#h7 ,the ,supreme ,court   
established that the clear and          
convincing evidence standard satisfies  
due process for allegations to terminate
 or restrict parental rights in         
,santosky v4 ,kramer 7#dee ,u4,s4 #gde  
7#aihb774  7#i7 ,currently only #f      

,states have statutes allowing rape     
survivors to petition for the           
termination of parental rights of the   
rapist based on clear and convincing    
evidence that the child was conceived   
through rape4  7#aj7 ,a rapist pursuing 
parental or custody rights forces the   
survivor to have continued interaction  
with the rapist1 which can have         
traumatic psychological effects on the  
survivor1 making it more difficult for  
her to recover4  7#aa7 ,these traumatic 
effects on the mother can severely      
negatively impact her ability to raise a
 healthy child4  7#ab7 ,rapists may use 
the threat of pursuing custody or       
parental rights to coerce survivors into
 not prosecuting rape1 or otherwise     
harass1 intimidate1 or manipulate them4 
#c4 ,grants authorized ,the ,attorney   
,general shall 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-ordered      
termination of the parental rights of   

her rapist with regard to that child1   
which the court shall grant upon clear  
and convincing evidence of rape4  #d4   
,application ,a ,state seeking a grant  
under this ,act shall submit an         
application to the ,attorney ,general at
 such time1 in such manner1 and         
containing such information as the      
,attorney ,general may reasonably       
require1 including information about the
 law described in section #c4  #e4      
,grant amount ,the amount of a grant to 
a ,state under this ,act shall be in an 
amount that is not greater than #aj     
percent of the average of the total     
amount of funding of the #c most recent 
awards that the ,state received under   
the following grant programs3  7#a7     
,part ,t of title ,i of the ,omnibus    
,crime ,control and ,safe ,streets ,act 
of #aifh 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #cgif;gg et     
seq47 7commonly referred to as the      
,,stop ,violence ,against ,women        
,formula ,grant ,program74  7#b7        
,section #dafja of the ,violence        

,against ,women ,act of #aiid 7#db      
,u4,s4,c4 #adjdc;g7 7commonly referred  
to as the ,sexual ,assault ,services    
,program74  #f4 ,grant term  7a7 ,in    
general ,the term of a grant under this 
,act shall be for one year4  7b7        
,renewal ,a ,state that receives a grant
 under this ,act may submit an          
application for a renewal of such grant 
at such time1 in such manner1 and       
containing such information as the      
,attorney ,general may reasonably       
require4  7c7 ,limit ,a ,state may not  
receive a grant under this ,act for more
 than #d years4  #g4 ,uses of funds ,a  
,state that receives a grant under this 
section shall use--  7#a7 #be percent of
 such funds for any of the permissible  
uses of funds under the grant program   
described in paragraph 7#a7 of section  
#e2 and  7#b7 #ge percent of such funds 
for any of the permissible uses of funds
 under the grant program described in   
paragraph 7#b7 of section #e4  #h4      
,termination defined  7a7 ,in general   

,in this ,act1 the term termination     
means1 when used with respect to        
parental rights1 a complete and final   
termination of the parent's right to    
custody of1 guardianship of1 visitation 
with1 access to1 and inheritance from a 
child4  7b7 ,rule of construction       
,nothing in this section shall be       
construed to require a ,state1 in order 
to receive a grant under this ,act1 to  
have in place a law that terminates any 
obligation of a person who fathered a   
child through rape to support the child4
  #i4 ,authorization of appropriations  
,there is authorized to be appropriated 
#e1jjj1jjj for each of fiscal years     
#bjad through #bjah4