'The Daily Show' Reminds Us That In Some States, Rapists Can Sue Their Victims For Custody Of A Child

In Some States, Rapists Have Parental Rights

Here's an infuriating reminder to darken your day: In some states, rapists have parental rights.

On a recent segment of The Daily Show, correspondent Samantha Bee came to terms with this depressing reality -- with a little help from emotional support animals.

"Right now, a woman doesn't have the right -- across America -- to terminate her rapist's parental rights," Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz told Bee.

According to Shauna Prewitt, a lawyer who spent two years fighting her attacker for custody of her daughter, around 32,000 women each year become pregnant after being raped. At least one-third of them go on to raise that child.

"We're looking at at least 10,000 potential custody battles every single year in this country," Prewitt said.

Wasserman Schultz is working to pass a bill incentivizing states where rapists can seek parental rights to pass laws preventing this -- something that desperately needs to happen. The bill previously failed to get a hearing due to funding issues.

Bee finishes the segment with a good old-fashioned state-shaming session, listing the states that "need to get their sh*t together" -- among them Alabama, Maryland, New York, Hawaii and Kentucky.

We're gonna need Bee to share that basket of baby emergency support chickens.

Before You Go

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