COLUMBUS (OH)
Cincinnati Enquirer
BY JON CRAIG | ENQUIRER COLUMBUS BUREAU AND DAN HORN
COLUMBUS - State legislators dropped a proposal Tuesday that would have allowed victims of sexual abuse to sue their abusers up to 35 years after the offense.
The provision, strongly opposed by the Catholic Church, was the most controversial part of a proposed child protection law.
Church officials said the provision was unfair and probably unconstitutional, while victims' advocates viewed it as the best way to hold priests and the church accountable for decades-old abuse claims.
The proposed 35-year "look-back period" had survived nearly a year of political debate and lobbying, but it didn't survive Tuesday's vote of the House Judiciary Committee.
Committee members voted 7-3 to remove the provision before sending the child protection bill to the full House for a vote, possibly as early as today.