New Alabama law bans parental rights for those convicted of rape, incest

By Marty Roney
Montgomery Advertiser

A newly signed law bans parental rights of convicted rapists and incest abusers.
Gov. Kay Ivey signed the bill into law that was sponsored by Rep. Will Dismukes, R-Prattville. State Sen. Clyde Chambliss, R-Prattville, carried the bill in the upper chamber.
The law removes parental rights if a child was conceived as a result of the rape or incest.

"Under the old law a judge could consider rape or incest in their decision for granting parental rights," Dismukes said. "The new law removes any question of what will happen. A woman never needs to sit across the table from her rapist or abuser and wonder about the future of her child."
News of the law was just getting out this week."My God!" Tricia West said. She was having lunch with friends in Prattville. "You would think we would already have a law addressing that."
Dismukes agreed, and called the law a "band-aid."

"We fixed what was broken," he said. "You would think we wouldn't need a law but we do. Once the child is an adult, they can determine what type of relationship they wish to have, or not have, with their father. But this law protects them and their mother as long as they are juveniles."