astro
September 26, 2004, 3:12am
1
Women Fight Florida Adoption Law - Women are fighting a Florida adoption law, which requires them to publish their past sexual experiences.
Have Florida legislators lost their minds? Isn’t this humiliating nonsense the surest way to push prospective adoptive bio-mothers into having abortions.
Under a new Florida Adoption law, mothers who do not know who their baby’s father is, and who have exhausted other searches in finding out that information, must place a notice in in a local newspaper where the baby was conceived describing or identifying men who may have fathered their child. In the newspaper notice, the mother must list her name, describe herself, name or describe the possible father and list the date and the city or county of conception. The ads must run once a week for four weeks.
The law went into effect in October, but complaints have only recently started piling up as last year’s adoption petitions proceed through the courts.
The Controversy:
Pro:
Backers of the law say it helps ensure that families that an adoption won’t be broken up by litigation. “It’s something to ensure that when couples adopt a child, it’s going to be final,” Democratic state Sen. Walter Campbell said.
Lawyers for the six women say they have heard of no complaints from men whose names have appeared in the notices.
Con:
Six women are fighting the Florida adoption law, stating that it is unconstitutional. Charlotte Danciu, attorney for the plaintiffs, has spoken to the press and stated that many women have walked out of her office saying that they would rather have an abortion than go through the humiliation of posting their sexual past.
“We do these publications every week and they are horrible, degrading,” said Jeanne Tate, executive vice president of the Florida Association of Adoption Professionals. She likened the notices to a “scarlet letter.”
Latest Developments:
Palm Beach County Circuit Judge Peter Blanc recently ruled that rape victims are exempt from the law. But he did uphold the provision for other circumstances, including underage girls who willingly had sex but were not legally old enough to consent
Hmmm, another problem-with the rape loophole, you’d have women claiming they were raped. Or just an increase in abortions, I would imagine.
Or perhaps it’s a ploy to “shame” these women, to try and make it seem like it’ll cut down on promiscuity.
:rolleyes:
I seem to remember a case a few years back where the biological father of an adopted baby found out about it after the fact and sued to gain custody of his child. I’m pretty sure he won the his suit. It would appear that the Florida legislature is trying to prevent that from happening again.
Definitely a crappy law, but at least they’re trying to do something good.
If they’re trying to do some good, then they should also make men post a notice in the paper about every woman they’ve had sex with describing the where and the when in a good-faith effort to avoid a future lawsuit. I guess they would have to update this notice every time they have sex?
TeaElle
September 26, 2004, 7:02pm
5
This is pretty old news, from back in 2002. Well, the law was passed in 2001, and upheld by a judge in 2002, then on appeal, found to be unconstitutional and stricken in April, 2003l. (Opinion here in .pdf format or in [www.4dca.org/Apr2003/04-23-03/4D02-3410.pdf&hl=en ]HTML](http://216.239.41.104/search?q=cache:c5CFStOWoJkJ: [url) courtesy Google.)
TeaElle
September 26, 2004, 7:04pm
6
Crud. If a mod might clean up that link I’d be greatly appreciative. It should be this .
astro
September 26, 2004, 7:19pm
7
TeaElle:
This is pretty old news, from back in 2002. Well, the law was passed in 2001, and upheld by a judge in 2002, then on appeal, found to be unconstitutional and stricken in April, 2003
If that’s the case. I’ll ask a mod to close this thread. I thought the link I had was current.