US adoption law forces women to print sex histories

CIVIL liberties campaigners yesterday attacked a law which forces women to publish their sexual histories in newspapers before they put babies up for adoption.

Schoolgirls and rape victims are among those who have been made to pay for the humiliating advertisements after the legislation was introduced in Florida.

A pregnant woman wanting to give her baby up must take out newspaper advertisements including the names of all her partners who could have been the father, detailed physical description the man or men and, if she does not know his name, the places where conception might have taken place.

Victims of the law include a 12-year-old girl who was raped, a schoolgirl who became pregnant after having sex with several classmates, and a young addict who was offered sex for drugs.

Charlotte Danciu, a lawyer representing some of the women, said it was as if women were being told “you have to pay for your sins”. She compared it to “The Scarlet Letter Law” used by the Puritans of colonial New England, who forced women to wear the letter A for adultery if suspected of having an affair.

“To humiliate her and put the scarlet letter on her chest in the interest of a possible dad, who might come forward is ridiculous and has a tremendous chilling effect on adoptions in Florida,” she said.

Many women have decided to have pregnancies terminated rather than face the shame of putting their names in the newspaper.

Women in Florida do not need to consult the biological father if they want an abortion.

Florida Senator Walter Campbell, the main proponent of the law, said it was introduced to prevent fathers losing their children to adoption without their knowledge or consent.