Court Ruling: 13 yr statutory rape victim has to pay child support

[AoTFan]

I was watching this "Counter to 'Feminist' Arguments" video on Youtube when I found out about this case that really floored me.  In Indiana, there was a case of a girl who, at 16, was a babysitter for a 12 year old boy whom she started having sex with.  When he was 13 (and she 17) she got pregnant.  Their child was born in 1989.  In 1991 the Kansas Department of Social and Rehabilitation Services took the father to court for child support.  (What kind of child support a 15 year old will be able to pay out, I dunno... burger tips?)  

Now, case was originally throw out, but the Supreme Court upheld it, saying basically, although the statutory rape was a crime under criminal law, the boy had given consent to the act under civil law.  Now, to quote Wikipedia, "The court also ruled that a mother's potential culpability under criminal statutes was of no relevance (emphasis mine) in determining the father's child support liability in a civil action.  The court stated that the state's interest in ensuring that a minor receives child support outweighed its interest in potentially deterring sexual crimes against minors."

So.... yeah.  Yay for women's rights, huh?  

I know we've got a couple of legal people on this board, love hear what they think about this.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hermesmann_v._Seyer

[Rev. Powell]

It's an odd case, and not something that will come up very often. But think of it this way. If he was 13 and she was 15 and they had consensual sex and she got pregnant there would not be a crime. He would then be financially responsible for his child. The court is saying that fact that she was a few years older than him should not make a difference to his responsibility.

Child support is a matter between the parent and the child, not between the two parents. The baby is the one whose interests the state is seeking to protect, and the kid is blameless. So yeah, her criminal act has no relevance in this case. (If she had forcibly raped the 13-year-old at gunpoint, it would be a different case).

Practically, he has no ability to pay right now and will not be required to. When he's an adult he will have to do what he can to help support the child he made. It's not necessarily fair, but it's not the baby's fault his mom was a bad person and his dad was just a kid himself---and the child is the one whose interests are at stake, not the mother or father.

[AlbertMond]

Not really a women's rights issue, but one of the s**te legal system.