FL: Adoption Law Mandating Disclosure of Intimate Details Set to Change
A Florida adoption law that requires pregnant women considering adoption to publish intimate details about their sexual history — purportedly to identify the father—is getting an overhaul, reports Reuters. Enacted in October 2001, the law—pushed by Democratic State Sen. Walter “Skip” Campbell—mandates public disclosure of the pregnant woman’s name, identification and/or description of possible fathers, as well as the date and place of conception. Last July, after six women filed a lawsuit charging the law unconstitutionally violates their privacy, Palm Beach County Circuit Judge Peter Blanc ruled the law is unconstitutional only in cases where women have been raped.
However, attorneys for the state failed to appear yesterday before the Fourth District Court of Appeals to defend the law. The Associated Press reports that Sen. Campbell is now drafting a revised bill—replacing the public disclosure mandate with a confidential registry that notifies potential fathers should their listed sex partner place a baby for adoption. The new legislation, based on similar adoption laws in New York, Minnesota and Texas, is expected to move gain quick approval in March and be “one of the first bills passed and signed by the governor,” Sen. Campbell told Reuters.
5/22/2013 Immigration Reform Bill Advances In Senate - Last night, the Senate Judiciary Committee approved a sweeping immigration reform bill in a bipartisan vote of 13 to 5. . . .
5/22/2013 Afghan Women Arrested for 'Moral Crimes' Increases 50% - A new report by the Human Rights Watch shows that in the past 18 months the number of women in Afghanistan incarcerated for 'moral crimes' has increased from 400 to 600, a 50% growth.
Many of the women imprisoned for moral crimes were arrested running away from forced or abusive marriages and families, even though there is no law against leaving. . . .
5/22/2013 Army Commander Suspended for Adultery Amid Wave of Sexual Assaults - On Tuesday, Brigadier General Bryan T Roberts was suspended from his position as commander of the Fort Jackson, South Carolina training camp which trains approximately 60% of incoming female recruits pending an investigation into allegations of adultery.
Roberts was suspended following allegations of "adultery and a physical altercation." Colonel Christian Kubik, an Army spokesperson for the Training and Doctrine Command, told reporters "We don't have any evidence of any sexual assault. . . .
