I 
113TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 2772 
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 rape. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JULY 22, 2013 
Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ (for herself and Mr. MARINO) introduced the 
following bill; 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 rape. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Rape Survivor Child 
Custody Act’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds the following: 
VerDate Mar 15 2010 
05:07 Jul 23, 2013
Jkt 029200
PO 00000
Frm 00001
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H2772.IH
H2772
smartinez on DSK6TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
(1) Men who father children through rape 
should be prohibited from visiting or having custody 
of those children. 
(2) According to several studies, it is estimated 
that there are between 25,000 and 32,000 rape-re-
lated pregnancies annually in the United States. 
(3) A substantial number of women choose to 
raise their child conceived through rape and, as a re-
sult, may face custody battles with their rapists. 
(4) According to one study, 32.3 percent of 
women who were raped and became pregnant as a 
result of the rape kept their child. 
(5) Another study found that, of the 73 percent 
of women who became pregnant as a result of a rape 
and carried their pregnancies to term, 64 percent 
raised their children. 
(6) Rape is one of the most under-prosecuted 
serious crimes, with estimates of criminal conviction 
occurring in less than 5 percent of rapes. 
(7) The clear and convincing evidence standard 
is the most common standard for termination of pa-
rental rights among the 50 States, territories, and 
the District of Columbia. 
(8) The Supreme Court established that the 
clear and convincing evidence standard satisfies due 
VerDate Mar 15 2010 
05:07 Jul 23, 2013
Jkt 029200
PO 00000
Frm 00002
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H2772.IH
H2772
smartinez on DSK6TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
process for allegations to terminate or restrict pa-
rental rights in Santosky v. Kramer (455 U.S. 745 
(1982)). 
(9) Currently only 6 States have statutes allow-
ing rape survivors to petition for the termination of 
parental rights of the rapist based on clear and con-
vincing evidence that the child was conceived 
through rape. 
(10) A rapist pursuing parental or custody 
rights forces the survivor to have continued inter-
action with the rapist, which can have traumatic 
psychological effects on the survivor, making it more 
difficult for her to recover. 
(11) These traumatic effects on the mother can 
severely negatively impact her ability to raise a 
healthy child. 
(12) Rapists may use the threat of pursuing 
custody or parental rights to coerce survivors into 
not prosecuting rape, or otherwise harass, intimi-
date, or manipulate them. 
SEC. 3. 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-or-
dered termination of the parental rights of her rapist with 
VerDate Mar 15 2010 
05:07 Jul 23, 2013
Jkt 029200
PO 00000
Frm 00003
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H2772.IH
H2772
smartinez on DSK6TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
regard to that child, which the court shall grant upon clear 
and convincing evidence of rape. 
SEC. 4. APPLICATION. 
A State seeking a grant under this Act shall submit 
an application to the Attorney General at such time, in 
such manner, and containing such information as the At-
torney General may reasonably require, including informa-
tion about the law described in section 3. 
SEC. 5. GRANT AMOUNT. 
The amount of a grant to a State under this Act shall 
be in an amount that is not greater than 10 percent of 
the average of the total amount of funding of the 3 most 
recent awards that the State received under the following 
grant programs: 
(1) Part T of title I of the Omnibus Crime Con-
trol and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 
3796gg et seq.) (commonly referred to as the 
‘‘STOP Violence Against Women Formula Grant 
Program’’). 
(2) Section 41601 of the Violence Against 
Women Act of 1994 (42 U.S.C. 14043g) (commonly 
referred to as the ‘‘Sexual Assault Services Pro-
gram’’). 
VerDate Mar 15 2010 
05:07 Jul 23, 2013
Jkt 029200
PO 00000
Frm 00004
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H2772.IH
H2772
smartinez on DSK6TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
SEC. 6. GRANT TERM. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The term of a grant under this 
Act shall be for one year. 
(b) RENEWAL.—A State that receives a grant under 
this Act may submit an application for a renewal of such 
grant at such time, in such manner, and containing such 
information as the Attorney General may reasonably re-
quire. 
(c) LIMIT.—A State may not receive a grant under 
this Act for more than 4 years. 
SEC. 7. USES OF FUNDS. 
A State that receives a grant under this section shall 
use— 
(1) 25 percent of such funds for any of the per-
missible uses of funds under the grant program de-
scribed in paragraph (1) of section 5; and 
(2) 75 percent of such funds for any of the per-
missible uses of funds under the grant program de-
scribed in paragraph (2) of section 5. 
SEC. 8. TERMINATION DEFINED. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—In this Act, the term ‘‘termi-
nation’’ means, when used with respect to parental rights, 
a complete and final termination of the parent’s right to 
custody of, guardianship of, visitation with, access to, and 
inheritance from a child. 
VerDate Mar 15 2010 
05:07 Jul 23, 2013
Jkt 029200
PO 00000
Frm 00005
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H2772.IH
H2772
smartinez on DSK6TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
(b) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this sec-
tion shall be construed to require a State, in order to re-
ceive a grant under this Act, to have in place a law that 
terminates any obligation of a person who fathered a child 
through rape to support the child. 
SEC. 9. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 
There is authorized to be appropriated $5,000,000 
for each of fiscal years 2014 through 2018. 
Æ 
VerDate Mar 15 2010 
05:07 Jul 23, 2013
Jkt 029200
PO 00000
Frm 00006
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6301
E:\BILLS\H2772.IH
H2772
smartinez on DSK6TPTVN1PROD with BILLS