Expansion of Rape Definition in Maryland

Giulia Rozzi April 21, 2008 | 12:33 pm EST

With this expansion of the legal definition of rape, Maryland joins seven other states whose courts have determined that a man can be charged with rape if he ignores a woman’s calls to stop even if she had previously consented to sex.

“This goes to the heart of women’s autonomy,” said Lisae C. Jordan, legal director of the Maryland Coalition Against Sexual Assault, which filed a brief in the matter. “It says that, yes, women do have the right to make decisions about something as intimate as sexual intercourse.”

The Maryland Court of Appeals’ opinion in a rape case from Montgomery County overturns what defense attorneys and a lower appeals court said was existing common law and the high court’s own 1980 opinion. [Baltimoresun.com]

While I suppose this is “good news” it’s also incredibly sad that any state would ever rule that a woman cannot revoke her consent after intercourse begins.

and get involved at the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network http://www.rainn.org/