Law Would Go After ‘Deadbeat’ Dads
Sex with a teenage girl on welfare eventually could lead to jail time in Washington.
The state Legislature is considering prosecuting fathers who impregnate young welfare recipients and don’t pay support for their children.
The law is designed to prevent “deadbeat” men from preying on poor young girls who need public money to raise their babies.
It’s the latest on a long list of Statehouse schemes to improve a cyclical and expensive welfare system.
The “ziplock” amendment, as its author quipped, would make it a misdemeanor for a man to twice impregnate a welfare recipient under age 18 - if he fails to pay child support.
Doing so a third time would bring a felony charge.
Advocates for the poor call the plan grandstanding, a diversion from the true issues of poverty. A Spokane welfare mother said the law likely would have no effect on people’s sex lives.
Sen. Mike Heavey, D-Seattle, however, believes his proposed law would create a “tremendous chilling effect” on “predatory” men.
He claims there is substantial evidence that many men repeatedly seduce poor young teens, then encourage them to let welfare pay the costs of child rearing.
“This is my response” to the problem, Heavey said Wednesday. “Maybe it’s not the best response, but certainly if you imprison this person, he most likely cannot impregnate another woman and put her on (welfare).”
It’s a crazy idea, said some advocates for the poor.
“This is a frivolous diversion,” said Morton Alexander of the Fair Budget Action Committee. He called it typical of welfare reform proposals coming out of Olympia.
“It’s not dealing with the irresponsibility of legislators who don’t want to deal with real economic issues of poverty and how people get trapped in it.”
A Spokane welfare mother of four said if kids don’t worry about getting pregnant or catching AIDS, they aren’t likely to worry about getting arrested.
“I don’t think they think about anything but the pleasurable part of sex at the time,” she said. “To make it a criminal charge, I don’t know. My personal opinion is that women should carry some of the responsibility.”
Bernie Nelson, regional administrator for the state Department of Social and Health Services, isn’t impressed by Heavey’s proposal.
“Personally, I think that would be one heck of a stretch for what is a very complex problem,” he said.
Heavey said his only real concern about his plan is that the criminal penalties might make women more reluctant to name the fathers of their children.
He also said his plan has broad support. It passed the House unanimously. The Senate is expected to consider it as part of a welfare reform package in coming weeks.