Contact: Joshua Edmonds
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NORCROSS, GA, December 10, 2015—Georgia Right to Life (GRTL) today revealed its first piece of priority legislation for the 2016 legislative session aimed at terminating parental rights to sexual predators.

“Rape, incest and preying on victims of sex traffickers are horrible crimes,” said GRTL President Ricardo Davis. “This law will empower victims of sexual assault to deny parental rights to their assailants. I am very thankful to Rep. Raffensperger for his leadership on this critical issue.”

Davis added the bill will also act as a deterrent to abortion since victims won’t face the threat of ongoing dealings with the perpetrator.

“GRTL embraces measures that advance the concept of Personhood, which promotes the idea that all innocent human life—at every stage of development—deserves protection. It’s critical to ensure we don’t place less value on a child conceived as a result of sexual abuse,” Davis said.

The measure, HB 713, has been introduced in the Georgia General Assembly, by Rep. Brad Raffensperger (R-Johns Creek).

An estimated 25,000 sexual assault-related pregnancies occur every year in the United States. In over 70 percent of those cases, the women carry the child to term.

Rep. Raffensperger became aware of the problem after hearing the heartbreaking story of Shauna Prewitt and was moved to take action through this legislation.

Ms. Prewitt, who spoke at GRTL’s 2015 annual REACH banquet, was raped while in college and courageously decided to have her child. She reluctantly agreed not to testify against her assailant to assure he would not be involved in her life.

The proposal is a reflection of the federal Rape Survivor Child Custody Act, which went into effect last June. The law provides federal financial assistance to states to pass similar laws.

Currently, 30 states have similar laws to Rep. Raffensperger’s measure.

Georgia Right to Life promotes respect and effective legal protection for all innocent human life from earliest biological beginning through natural death. GRTL is one of a number of organizations that have adopted Personhood as the most effective pro-life strategy for the 21st century.