It Took Ariel Castro to Get Ohio to Start Taking Away Rapists'
Parental Rights. Here Are the States That Haven't Yet.  | Wed
Jan. 22, 2014 8:58 AM GMT Ariel Castro in custody.  Last summer,
when Ariel Castro was on trial in Ohio for kidnapping, sexual
assault, and murder, he made an unusual request to the judge: He
wanted parental rights to visit the six-year-old daughter he had
conceived through rape. Given the magnitude of the
charges—Castro was ultimately sentenced to life without parole,
plus 1,000 years in prison, before committing suicide in
September—the judge denied the request. But Ohio has no law on
the books preventing alleged or convicted rapists from seizing
parental rights of the children they may have conceived through
rape. That could soon change. Last week, the Ohio House of
Representatives unanimously passed a bill, inspired by Castro,
that would prevent this scenario in the future. And Ohio isn't
the only state to take action on this. If Ohio enacts the bill,
it will join a number of other