My mom asked me to preach my grandmother's eulogy, and at first I declined her request.  However, the Holy Spirit impressed upon me to say yes.  It was in that moment of obedience, I could really see the magnitude of her decision and my grandmother's influence as I looked into my mother's face, telling the story once again.  I could also see the endurance, perseverance, and her joy of seeing me share the love of Jesus and her mother's legacy.  This was the first time many in my own family heard me tell it (and more) outside of the Compassion Project commercials and the Life Uninvited documentary produced by Right to Life of Michigan and aired on state-wide television.

Because my mother so courageously stood with me from the womb and chose life for me, I am compelled to do the same for her as I advocate with the doctors and intercede by faith on her behalf. What I know is that I cannot bear this load alone, which is why I'm coming to you asking that you join me in prayer for my mother's complete healing.

Since I know her eternal home is secure in Jesus Christ, I can afford to be so bold in my faith and ask the Lord for this miracle.  I want to see my mother rise from her death bed and go forth in ministry, telling her side of the story so that other mothers won't feel the need to carry the shame of being raped and loving the child who they didn't ask to be conceived.  

My mom wanted me to live.  I want the same for her.

Will you pray with me for the healing of my mother Victoria Forté and share with other prayer warriors? Thank you in advance for your commitment.

You can follow updates here: https://m.facebook.com/TravonPClifton/

BIO:  Travon Clifton is a daughter, a wife, and a mother of two.  She's also an international pro-life speaker and blogger with Save The 1.  Her interview, Conceived In Rape, will be re-airing with Dr. James Dobson on Family Talk Tues - Th, Jan. 16-18th.

Alabama urgently needs to pass The Rape Survivor Child Custody Act, to terminate the parental rights of rapists and to suspend any custody or visitation.  Last week, a rape survivor mom from our network, J.C., published her story in our Save The 1 blog, "From Age 13, My Uncle Raped and Impregnated Me, But The Judge Said It's Irrelevant."  In her custody case for her two surviving children conceived in rape-incest, DeKalb County, Alabama Judge Steven Whitmire told her that their conception was irrelevant, and granted her rapist uncle visits over Christmas.  Determined to protect her children, she's sought protection from the County Sheriff's office, imploring them to file charges against him for the years of rape.

All four of her children were conceived in rape-incest -- the first two were conceived when she was under "the age of consent" in Alabama.  J.C. miscarried her first child, and her third child died at 2-1/2 years old, due to a serious genetic disorder -- Krabbe Disease -- which was the result of the genetics involved in being too closely related.  These children died because of her uncle's actions.  In Alabama, incest is a Class C felony and statutory rape with a victim under the age of 16 is 2nd degree rape -- a Class B felony.  There is no statute of limitation for rape in Alabama, so he can be prosecuted for the rape and incest.  Yet, the judge didn't see his being a child molester as relevant to parenting.

A Fox News article from Apr. 2017 highlights the fact that Alabama is only 1 of 7 states (joining Mississippi, Minnesote, North Dakota, Wyoming and New Mexico, which has NO law providing for the termination of parental rights of rapists: In 7 US states, rape victims can be legally forced to share custody of their children with their rapist fathers

So exactly what needs to be done in Alabama?  Under current law, Alabama Code - Section 26-18-7, there are 8 subsections listing grounds for termination of parental rights.  At the outset, the standard of judicial review is set forth:  "If the court finds from clear and convincing evidence, competent, material, and relevant in nature. . . ."

For Alabama, all that's needed is a 9th subsection stating:

(9)  That the parent raped the other parent and the minor child was conceived as a result of the rape.

Furthermore, Alabama and other states should follow Michigan's example and also provide protection in the code on custody and visitation to authorize a judge to suspend those rights. Typically, this is how the issue of a rapist seeking parental rights first comes up -- on a paternity/child support case or other family law matter.  These mothers like J.C. need immediate relief and should not have to file an actual termination of parental rights case in order to be immediately protected by the court in a family law matter.

Yes, there may be other language under current law which a judge may decide to employ in order to do what's right and suspend or terminate parental rights, but the law should be explicit so that every judge understands what is expected of them, and that the public will not tolerate awarding parental rights to rapists.

In Michigan, with the law passed the way it was, my client in the recent Sanilac County case of national attention was able to be protected.  My client's rapist molested her when she was 12 and he was 19, but during her pregnancy, he had only been convicted of "attempted" criminal sexual conduct due to a plea deal, and then years later, Judge Gregory Ross awarded him joint legal custody and parenting time without a hearing, by simply signing an order presented to him by the Prosecutor's office in a paternity case, without my client's consent.  But the judge reversed himself because of the law passed in Michigan in 2016. The Michigan case is one with a happier ending, demonstrating the importance of getting this legislation passed in every state.

Here is detailed information on the Michigan law from Right to Life of Michigan, who made this project a priority in it's legislative agenda:

 https://www.rtl.org/legislation/PendingLegislation/RapeSurvivorChildCustody.html  Because of my experience in working with so many rape victim mothers who have fought their rapist over custody and visitation issues, I emphasized the need for authorizing judges in family law matters to be able to suspend these rights upon a finding by "clear and convincing evidence" that the child was conceived in rape.  One of these Michigan companion bills passed in 2016 addresses custody and the other addresses parenting time.

Florida passed this law unanimously a few year ago, which was the impetus to Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman-Schultz co-sponsoring with Sen. Sherrod Brown the Federal Bill, The Rape Survivor Child Custody Act, signed by Pres. Obama in 2015. H.R.1257 - 114th Congress (2015-2016): Rape Survivor Child Custody Act 

The law gives an incentive to states which pass legislation with the necessary language, as follows: 

"Directs the Attorney General to 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-ordered termination of the parental rights of her rapist with regard to that child, which the court shall grant upon clear and convincing evidence of rape.

"Limits such a grant to: (1) an amount that is not greater than 10% of the average of the total funding of the three most recent awards a state received under the STOP Violence Against Women Formula Grant Program and the Sexual Assault Services Program; and (2) a one-year term, subject to renewal for not more than three additional years.

"Requires a state that receives such a grant to use: (1) 25% of grant funds for permissible uses under the STOP Violence Against Women Formula Grant Program, and (2) 75% of funds for permissible uses under the Sexual Assault Services Program."

Please note the Federal law says "shall grant," not "may grant," so if the court determines the child was conceived in rape, then terminating parental rights is not discretionary.  The Federal law is gender-specific -- "a law that allows the mother. . .", but all of the states where I've worked on this have passed gender-neutral bills because men get raped too -- particular cases of statutory rape.  In fact, I'm currently working with a father in Iowa who actually got a rape conviction, but the judge in the custody case said he doesn't believe in statutory rape and that for a 15 year old boy, having a naked woman in his bed was "manna from Heaven."  More to come on that story. . . .
In the Federal law, Congress made the following findings:  

into not prosecuting rape, or otherwise harass, intimidate, or manipulate them.

Last year, I helped get this law introduced and passed in Iowa, Georgia, Michigan, and Indiana, and I was able to assist or consult in many other states.  I also got legislators in Brazil and in Malta to initiate this legislation, and whenever I speak in a nation's Parliament, I always try to get legislators to sponsor this bill.  It's not just an issue in the U.S., but globally of course.

A bill to terminate the parental rights of rapists is being reintroduced in Maryland this coming month.  Some states like Ohio got it wrong by requiring a rape conviction, when it's estimated that only 1% of rape victims ever see their rapist convicted as charged.  As Congress and the U.S. Supreme Court found, the proper standard in termination of parental rights cases is "clear and convincing evidence."

But we need more advocates for this law.  Please see if your state requires a rape conviction or if it uses the "clear and convincing evidence" standard.  And if you live in one of the seven states that has no law -- contact your legislator with this information and advocate to get this passed!  I've reached out to a handful of legislators in Alabama, but ideally, ever single one should be contacted.

If you have progress and a bill sponsor, please let me know!  I can certainly arrange for rape victim mothers to testify.  With my experience as a family law attorney, having litigated these cases myself or working on them with others, I can offer a lot of insight for legislators who may have questions.  

In addition, we desperately need a network of attorneys nationwide who also would be willing to handle these cases pro bono.  Right now, the mother in DeKalb County, Alabama is in need of a pro bono lawyer, as well as the father in Iowa.  Please contact me if you are able to assist now or in the future.

As someone conceived in rape myself, I can tell you that I would not have wanted the rapist to be anywhere near me growing up!  Our global network of rape survivor mothers and those conceived in rape is now nearly 550 strong, and we've seen this issue come up quite a bit.  These mothers and their children deserve to be protected.  Won't you help us?  

BIO:  Rebecca Kiessling is an international pro-life speaker, blogger and attorney, advocating for the rights of rape victim mothers and their children.  She's the founder and president of Save The 1, and co-founder of Hope After Rape Conception.

Under the federal act, Congress made the following findings:

The federal act then provided additional grant money to states who pass this law:  “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-ordered termination of the parental rights of her rapist with regard to that child, which the court shall grant upon clear and convincing evidence of rape.”  The grant programs are the  STOP Violence Against Women Formula Grant.

With the recent debate in the New Mexico HB 390 Late-term Abortion Ban a fellow conceived in rape woman I know, was asked to be silent. She was told that her silence would save 95% of the babies that are killed in late term abortions. These politicians must assume that a woman who is desperate enough to receive a late term abortion will not lie about being raped to receive a way out of her current situation. Will my silence about being conceived in rape and being worthy of life really save 95% or will the “wink, wink-just say you were raped” approach of the abortion backers make that number 90%, 80% or even 50%? We don’t really know do we? Except we do know Norma McCorvey admitted she lied about being raped and that was why she needed an abortion. Many feel this was “an important point in the fact pattern of the Roe v. Wade case.”

Pictured here, I spoke out at a press conference in Lansing, MI December 2013 and the bill in question was passed without a rape exception. Once we who were conceived in rape spoke out, those asking for the exception immediately stopped insisting there should be an exception. Why? Because they couldn’t say our lives didn’t matter!

Save the 1, a pro-life speaker group of the “exceptions and hard cases” have been told by pro-life strategists not to keep silent but rather to speak out. If we speak out every time a pro-life bill has a rape exception, the pro-life community will finally understand that pro-life bills should not have exceptions put in them, in the first place. Even if the bill is killed initially, because in the long run the realization will come that the bills need to be presented without exceptions. I wish everyone would understand that we don’t need exceptions to pass pro-life bills, Michigan never has. When we as a pro-life community say, “Some life is not valuable,” we value none.

There are many parallel example we can look at, what if the South agreed to no more slavery except for the men over 6 foot tall. “Tall men would be too hard to control if not enslaved, don’t worry we’ll free 95% of the slaves who are under six feet.” Could you imagine if we, as an America people, found that acceptable? Some of our greatest basketball and football players, are very tall African-American men. Can you imagine living in a society where they were still kept as slaves in the South? Of course not, that is ludicrous! But at the time of the Civil War the thought of slavery being overturned was ludicrous to many people, however the abolitionist fought on. They educated the masses, they showed pictures of the brutality of slavery and eventually garnered enough support to overturn laws.

What about today? Should we educate the masses, show them pictures of those conceived in rape and shout from the roof tops their life matters? Unless we can pass a bill that has no exceptions in it, unless we can tell everyone every life matters, unless we can create a ban that does not allow any “wink, wink-lying” we will not have a real opportunity to overturn Roe v Wade. What the masses need to understand is, if a woman has the option of saying she had been raped, she will use that option in a desperate time. She will then live with the guilt of abortion for the rest of her life. The abortion will not end the memories of a rape it will only end a life, how can we live with that?

Can you look at my picture and say my life does not matter?

As an adopted daughter whose birth mother had been raped, Mary Rathke shares that even after a horrible encounter of rape, one can choose life and joy. Mary's story includes her birth mother's experience, how her adopted mother's tragic past was restored through adoption and the tough decisions she faced when her oldest son was born at 1lb 8oz. Mary is a wife, and mother of four children. She is a licensed minster and speaks monthly at the Good Samaritan Rescue Mission Chapel. She is a Savethe1 Director of the Board and the President of HELPeople, INC. She has been a part of the International March for Life Leadership conference in Rome, Italy and is endorsed by Dr James Dobson.

The only way to overturn Roe v Wade is to stop the exceptions!

 Did you know that Norma McCorvey – “Jane Roe” -- was told by her lawyers to say she was gang-raped, in order to make her case stronger to obtain an abortion?  Today, her daughter is alive because the Texas Court protected them both from that abortion.

As a woman who was conceived in rape, I find myself sharing my story over and over again at many pro-life events.  I have to ask, “Are you pro-life except in the case of Mary?”  I know that about 60% of people who claim to be pro-life are okay with exceptions, but after they hear real life stories like mine, only 1% will still believe in exceptions.

Living in the great state of Michigan, I have learned significantly about pro-life politics surrounding this issue. Michigan has never passed a pro-life law with an exception.  When the Michigan Legislature tried to pass a pro-life law in 2013, the Governor would not sign it because there was not a rape exception. So instead of submitting one, Right to Life of Michigan put together a petition drive. Once they had enough signatures, it was sent back to the Legislature. Of course, those on the left began to yell out, “What about in cases of rape?” Again, instead of adding an exception to the bill, those of us from Save The 1, who are conceived in rape, mothers from rape, or post-abortive from rape, held a press conference to explain that our lives matter.  The discussion quickly shifted, and the bill passed – with no exceptions!

This, my friends, is how we are going to overturn Roe v Wade -- not by saying abortion is okay in some cases, but rather explaining to everyone that we fight for life because we truly believe that every life matters. To further the discussion, Right to Life of Michigan has produced some beautiful 30-second TV ads which tell the stories of women conceived in rape.  My friend Travon Clifton’s story and my own story are being aired throughout the state.  Right to Life of Michigan President Barbara Listing said, "Those in favor of abortion have pointed to survivors of rape to justify legalized abortion. There is a misconception that women who become pregnant from rape want to abort their children. This is a false stereotype not supported by fact."  You can see more about what they are calling the “Compassion Project” by visiting www.RTL.org. Besides the 30-second ads, our 5-minute stories can be viewed there as well. 

We cannot overturn a law that was based on a woman's claim of being raped, by continuing to allow rape exceptions.  Instead of offering confused compassion to the rape victim by letting her believe that even pro-lifers think her child deserves death, we need to care for both victims, so they can both be survivors and overcomers. The woman needs real help to deal with her extraordinary crisis. We need to offer that help, counseling and support.  The child simply needs life.  We need to educate everyone that they can have compassion and understand -- even my life matters.

BIO:  Mary Rathke is a wife, mother of 4, ordained minister at Bay Valley Christian Church, and pro-life speaker and blogger for Save The 1.  She's also the President of HELP People Inc., serving the hungry and homeless.  Her website is www.maryrathke.org.