Current law requires the use of physical force for someone to be charged with rape.
The bill would expand that definition to include the use of a substance administered without a victim's consent that renders the victim incapable of making an informed consent to sexual intercourse. Rep. Vicky Wilson , D-Columbia, sponsored the bill after she learned drugging someone and then having sex without that person's consent is currently classified as sexual assault. Students from Columbia have expressed concern to Wilson about that classification, she said. Sexual assault carries a maximum penalty of seven years in prison, while someone convicted of rape faces five years to life in prison. This is not something someone can just play around with.