Pa. lawmaker wants rapists to pay child support - abc27 WHTM

Pa. lawmaker wants rapists to pay child support

A Pennsylvania lawmaker plans to introduce legislation that would require convicted rapists who father a child to pay child support even when their parental rights have been terminated.

Rep. Mike Schlossberg, D-Lehigh, said that under his bill, victims of rape would no longer be forced to choose between receiving child support from the rapist or terminating his parental rights.

Schlossberg said convicted rapists in Pennsylvania can have their parental rights terminated, but a loophole in the domestic relations law then relieves them of their child support responsibilities.

"No rape victim should be forced to pick between parental rights and child support, and a rapist should be penalized for his crime, not rewarded with parental rights that may further torment his victim," Schlossberg said in a statement.

Schlossberg said his bill has been drafted and is being circulated in the House of Representatives for co-sponsors before its formal introduction.