Mississippi Will Test Teen Moms' Babies For Statutory Rape Evidence
DNA Evidence Source? Oregon Department of Justice A creative new use of DNA testing The state of Mississippi plans to collect umbilical cord blood from the babies of certain mothers age 16 or younger. The blood will go into storage, should it ever be needed as evidence in a statutory rape case, Reuters reports. In the American state with the highest rate of teen pregnancy, the law's supporters hope it will reduce those pregnancies that arise from older men raping girls, Governor Phil Bryant told Reuters. The unusual law-the first of its kind, Mississippi Representative Andy Gipson, a Republican, told Reuters-is part of a larger debate about the collection of DNA evidence. As DNA-reading technology has become cheaper and swifter, law enforcement organizations have wanted to use it more often and earlier in investigations. Civil rights groups, on the other hand, have argued that such collections violate people's privacy. The arguments hinge on how...