Have you heard about America’s Scarlet Letter law? If you have not, you should, because it is the ultimate double standard law, created by Walter Campbell, a Democratic state senator, and passed in Florida last year.

Now I am sure that most of you remember Nathaniel Hawthorne’s widely read novel, The Scarlet Letter, a book that branded a woman with a scarlet “A” when she was discovered to have been indulging in adultery. The new law goes a whole lot further. This exquisitely politically incorrect text requires women of all ages (including minors) who do not know the identity of their child’s father to publish in newspapers sexual details about themselves and their possible sexual partners before they are allowed to put the child up for adoption.

Background searches are the first step, but when these fail, the law states that the mother must place legal notices in newspapers in cities where the baby may have been conceived. She must include her name and description, the name and description of the possible father, and the dates and places where conception might have taken place. The notifications must be published wherever conception may have occurred, even if it is outside the state of Florida.

Hmm . . . Let’s see: “My name is Jenny Carter and I am a 5ft tall, blonde, with big boobs and an enticing smile (or so my Dad tells me). I had sex with a boy called Matt at the County Fair on a hot weekend in July. Can’t remember what he looks like, so maybe he’ll remember me. And then there was Fred Jones at work. We only did it twice and then I never heard from him again. And the last Saturday in August I got drunk and had sex with twins. I think they were foreign.”

I am sure at this point you are muttering to yourself, “Ah, yes, this is a work of fiction — Jackie Collins style. She must have made this up.”

Unfortunately, it is not. It is an actual law, and I don’t know about you, but I find it utterly ridiculous. First of all, it is a complete invasion of privacy. Secondly, how would men feel about publicising their sexual past in the way these women have to? Here is another thought: if a father has been absent up to the point of birth, is it not obvious he does not care? And why should he be given the right of fatherhood when he has not earned it? Plus, if he does step forward and stops the adoption, is he prepared to support the child for the next 18 years, or will he be just another deadbeat dad who shirks his responsibilities? Sex is fun. Getting pregnant outside a warm and loving relationship is no fun at all. And tracking down the father in a local newspaper is definitely humiliating, embarrassing and utterly unfair. There are also many other ramifications. If the girl or woman was raped by her father or another family member, she may want to keep it quiet and not upset her family. However, if she has to list all her partners in the newspaper, this is not going to be possible.

I can just imagine a married man, who had a one-night stand, sitting in the kitchen having breakfast with his wife, reading the newspaper and finding his name listed as one of the lovers. Can you imagine how that would go down? Also, what if the woman is a prostitute who has no idea with whom she has slept. Whom does she list? We all know that Florida rarely gets things right, but this is completely beyond the realms of logic. The result of this law is that many women who would normally give birth to their babies and then give them up for adoption might decide to have an abortion instead. Why should they go through the embarrassment and humiliation of having to list their description and their sex partners in the newspapers? Ironically, it is the anti-abortion lobby which came up with this law in the first place.

What good is it doing, other than depriving people who are desperate to adopt of the chance to do so, and forcing women who get pregnant by mistake enduring unwanted abortions? Not to mention the cheating husband who thought he had got away with a quick fling and is now being thrown out of his home because a woman decided to list him. He may not even have been a lover, but a boss who fired her, and now she is disgruntled and decides that if she has got to make a list of men she has slept with, she will include his name for spite. Hey, if she is going to throw in some names, how about Brad Pitt, George Clooney and President Clinton? The law is so ridiculous that she would be able to do this.

Is Senator Campbell crazy or just plain dumb? The Scarlet Letter law is total garbage; it is stupid and inane and could ruin a woman’s life. So wake up Florida, and get with it. This is the kind of anti- quated, double standard type of law that benefits no one — especially the unborn child.

The author’s latest book is Deadly Embrace (Simon and Schuster).

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