BLOOMINGTON – Police in Bloomington say they have contacted authorities in Louisiana about their search for a college student whose disappearance has similarities to that of an Indiana University student who has been missingINDIANAPOLIS – A House committee voted 9-3 Monday to approve a bill terminating the parental rights of rapists despite numerous questions from both Republicans and Democrats on the issue.
Senate Bill 190 – as passed in that chamber – would take away the parental rights of rapists except if the child was conceived during a marriage.
But that marital exemption wasn’t the only problem that arose in the House hearing on the legislation.
Some of the other concerns voiced include:
•Should the mother of the child be able to actively seek the termination of rights of a rapist or simply use it as a defense if the rapist seeks visitation or other action involving the child?
•What constitutes evidence of the rape – a conviction or other “clear and convincing” evidence?
•If a rapist’s parental rights are terminated, should he still be required to pay child support?
But there wasn’t time to get answers to these questions or work through them because the hearing was the last meeting of the House Judiciary Committee this session.
Legislative leaders are trying to adjourn March 9, which has pushed up deadlines.
That meant those interested in the issue needed to keep the bill moving despite the concerns.
The committee changed the bill back to an earlier Senate version and added a provision for a study committee – an attempt to ensure that the Senate author would not accept the changes and have it become law.
The bill’s author, Sen. Ed Charbonneau, R-Valparaiso, promised he would dissent on the bill so that questions could be ironed out in conference committee.
Rep. Ralph Foley, R-Martinsville – chairman of the committee – conceded it wasn’t the preferable way to handle the bill.
Two legislators from northeast Indiana voted against sending a knowingly-deficient bill forward despite being supportive of the underlying purpose of the bill – keeping a rapist out of the victim’s life should the victim decide to keep and raise the baby.
“I really don’t like the way we are doing this,” said Rep. Dan Leonard, R-Huntington.
Rep. Phyllis Pond, R-New Haven, said she doesn’t trust the final weeks of a legislative session and also voted against the bill in its current form.
The legislation now moves to the full House.
