Welcome to the Commune podcast. My name is Jeff Krasno coming at you from Chapel Hill, North Carolina today.

Today's episode is a tough one. This conversation deals with the shocking, inhumane consequences that have been unleashed by the systematic attacks on women's health and women's rights in this country.

Before we proceed, a heads up to anyone who's sensitive to this topic.

We discuss sexual violence, reproductive rights,

and the way that the judiciary has been used as a tool to dismantle women's access to abortion,

even in the most extreme cases.

So if this isn't for you, we'll see you on the next one.

So today's episode was spurred by a question that as a husband and father of three daughters,

I never thought I would have to reckon with.

And that's this.

Should a convicted predator ever have custody of their victim's

child? It would be almost beyond belief that you could find anyone who would agree with that statement,

and yet in as many as 27 states, there are legal pathways for perpetrators of sexual violence to seek custody

and visitation rights. How is that possible? Is our public discourse so poisoned and our

disconnection so severe that we can't get on the same page about something so basic and so very

obvious? This particular case out of Michigan is not a one-off story.

It's a reflection of the legal vacuum left in the wake of the Supreme Court's Dobbs decision,

the radical shift in reproductive rights across the country, and the continued erosion of women's bodily autonomy, especially

in states like Texas. So today, my partner in Parenthood and Life, Skyler Grant, joins me to

follow that story. Now, as always, you can find me at jeffcrasno.substack.com or email me at

Jeff Kay at one communcrasno.substack.com or email me at jeff k at one commune.

You sent me this email last week that had a subject line that said rapist wins joint custody.

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