Chris Rabb takes controversial vote against sex trafficking legislation two weeks before congressional election
The progressive Democrat drew fire from his rivals in the 3rd District primary after voting against a pair of bills.
State Rep. Chris Rabb, a Democrat locked in a tight three-way battle for a seat representing Philadelphia in Congress, on Monday voted against two pieces of legislation aimed at bolstering penalties for people who sexually abuse or traffic children, saying the bills would not achieve their stated purposes.
Rabb took the controversial “no” votes in the state House Judiciary Committee, which approved legislation to make trafficking an infant a first-degree felony, an update to the offense’s current classification as a misdemeanor. The second bill that Rabb opposed would use revenue incurred from fining people convicted of child sexual offenses to establish a new fund for child advocacy centers.
Both bills passed through the committee, 25-1, with Rabb being the only member from either party to oppose.
In an interview Tuesday, Rabb said the trafficking bill — which sets penalties for “trading, bartering, buying, selling, or dealing in infant children” — could inadvertently criminalize people for situations that are not harmful, such as a parent paying a friend or family member to care for their child.
The bill, which is also opposed by the ACLU of Pennsylvania, specifies that it does not apply to legal surrogacies or adoptions.
“Any informal transfer of an infant that involves money, even for entirely protective reasons, could satisfy the statute’s elements, and that is what would receive a first-degree felony charge, which carries enormous leverage over a frightened parent,” Rabb said. “This doesn’t actually go after actual human traffickers. We have laws to do that.”
In Pennsylvania, people convicted of human trafficking for the purpose of forced labor can already face a felony charge if the victim is under 18. According to the Pennsylvania Capital-Star, the bill’s author said during a Monday committee hearing that the legislation would make that felony charge available in the case of infant victims, given they cannot engage in labor.
Rabb said the second bill creates a child advocacy center fund based on a “perverse financial incentive to lock up more people.” He said he intends to seek an amendment to the legislation to fund child advocacy centers a different way.
The votes came just two weeks before the May 19 primary election to represent Pennsylvania’s 3rd Congressional District, an open seat for which Rabb is one of three frontrunners. He has positioned himself as the unabashed leftist in the race, and he has in the past taken controversial votes to oppose legislation he believes would contribute to mass incarceration.
» READ MORE: Rabb voted against legislation to strengthen penalties for people accused of hate crimes
Rabb’s opponents swiftly condemned the votes.
Ala Stanford, a well-known pediatric surgeon making her first run for political office, said in a statement that Rabb’s position is “indefensible.”
“Chris Rabb’s votes are disqualifying — not because they are politically convenient to attack, but because they are wrong," she said.
The third top candidate, State Sen. Sharif Street, the former chair of the Pennsylvania Democratic Party, also slammed the votes, with a spokesperson saying in a statement that Rabb is “more focused on pandering to a small group of extremists than delivering results for Philadelphians.”
- Meet the Democrats vying to replace Dwight Evans in Congress
-
Philly’s competitive U.S. House race narrows — but big questions loom
-
Ala Stanford is banking on a healthcare message to break through crowded Philly primary for Congress
-
How two Philly congressional candidates are quietly guiding super PACs in plain sight
