Christian Message Boards: Florida 'Scarlet' law ludicrous !

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Posted by Kindgo (Member # 2) on :

http://www.floridatoday.com/!NEWSRO...toryA26992A.htm

FloridaToday.com (another link in case the one above doesn't work)

The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne's widely read novel, branded the red letter "A" on a woman in puritan New England who had an illegitimate child so all would know of her "sin."

A new law in Florida puts the same stigma on many unwed women or teenage girls who are pregnant and want to give their baby up for adoption. If the mother isn't sure who the father is, she must:

Run an ad in the local newspaper once a week for four weeks naming or describing all men or boys with whom she had sex during the year of her pregnancy.

List her own name and address.

The possibly well-intentioned but clearly misguided law was the brainchild of Democrat state senator Walter Campbell. Supporters say it is intended to give biological fathers "equal say" in adoptions and avoid legal disruptions later.

The equal say argument was best disavowed by former U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice Warren Burger who wrote in a dissenting opinion in a 1972 case: "Unwed mothers of illegitimate children are generally more dependable protectors of their children than are unwed fathers."

Going to ridiculous lengths to guarantee equal say in unwed pregnancies is utter nonsense. If the woman or girl carries the child for nine months and the man or boy has vanished it's because he doesn't give a damn about mother or child.

Florida's legislators should wipe this ludicrous law off the books. That would erase the scarlet letter from the mothers and, most importantly, give the children a chance at a real life as adoptees.

FloridaToday.com