Bush Bashed Over 'Scarlet Letter Law'

With former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush’s anticipated presidential campaign announcement less than a week away, the national media is abuzz about a now-repealed law passed under his watch.

The 2001 legislation, dubbed the “Scarlet Letter Law,” required some unwed mothers to advertise their sexual histories in newspapers if they were unsure of the father’s identity. The law applied to single woman – including rape victims and minors – who planned to place their children up for adoption.

While state courts deemed the law unconstitutional and Bush signed its repeal in 2003, the now defunct-legislation is drawing fire on the national stage.

The New York Daily News ran a piece on the dead legislation Wednesday and quoted a passage from Bush’s 1995 book, “Profiles in Character.” In a chapter titled “The Restoration of Shame,” Bush wrote about the shift in society’s perception of out-of-wedlock births: “There was a time when neighbors and communities would frown on out-of-wedlock births and when public condemnation was enough of a stimulus for one to be careful,” he wrote.

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In a post tagged, “Gov. Florida Man,” the Daily Beast also called out the old law. The piece titled, “Shaming Unwed Moms Was the Law in Jeb Bush’s Florida,” the writer concluded that “Florida men have some major issues when it comes to dealing with vulnerable children. And in the early 2000s, it appears Jeb Bush was no exception.”

Other media outlets, including the Huffington Post and Salon have also reported on the old bill in recent days.

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