The Senate today approved legislation sponsored by Sen. Dawn Euer to allow criminal charges to be brought when a person is raped by their spouse while the victim is incapacitated.
State law includes an exemption for spouses in the part of state’s first-degree sexual assault law that addresses situations when the victim is incapacitated, disabled or helpless. The bill (2021-S 0834) approved by the Senate today would eliminate that exemption.
“Consent always matters. A person who cannot consent because they are unconscious, drugged or disabled deserves to be protected from anyone who would abuse them in that state, spouse or not. That’s rape no matter who you are, and refusing to recognize it as such is leaving victims subject to repeated abuse. Our state must bring this ancient law into the 21st century and recognize that consent is every person’s inalienable right,” said Senator Euer (D-Dist. 13, Newport, Jamestown) in a statement.
