An Act to protect victims of rape and children conceived during the commission of said offense

This bill allows mothers in Massachusetts to petition a court to terminate the parental rights of a man who fathered their child through rape. It applies to both married women seeking to end their husband's rights and unmarried mothers seeking to end the rights of a stranger who committed the assault. The law establishes that a criminal conviction or guilty plea for rape serves as automatic proof that the child was conceived through sexual violence, removing the need for the mother to prove the crime in a separate civil case. Additionally, the bill creates a legal presumption that ending the perpetrator's parental rights is in the child's best interest. These changes would enable victims to seek adoption or other permanent solutions without facing the burden of re-litigating the original criminal case.