Campaigners in America have spoken out against a law which forces women to publish their sexual histories in newspapers before they put babies up for adoption.

Schoolgirls and rape victims are among those who have been made to pay for the humilating ads after the law was introduced in Florida.

If a women were to fall pregnant and wished to give her baby up, she must take out an advert which includes the names of all her partners who could of been the father, detailed physical descriptions, and if she does not know his name the places where conception may have taken place.

So far victims of the legislation have included a 12-year-old girl who was raped, a schoolgirl who became pregnant after having sex with several classmates, and a young addict who was offered sex for drugs.

A lawyer representating some of the women, Charlotte Danciu, compared it to "The Scarlet Letter Law" used by the Puritans of colonial New England, wh oforced women to wear the letter A for adultery if they were suspected of having an affair.

She said: "To humilate her and put the scarlet letter on her chest in the interest of a possible dad, who might come forward is ridiculous and has a tremendous chilling effect on adoptions in Florida."

Many women have decided to have pregnancies terminated rather than face the advert ordeal, she added, as women in Florida do not need to consult the father if they want an abortion.

Florida Senator Walter Campbell, said it was intorduced to to prevent fathers losing their children to adoption without their consent.

He added: "Without it we have the potential biological fathers coming back and taking children out of adoptive parents' hands."

Adoption lawyer Alvin Coen disagreed: "in my experience, it is very unlikely that the father of the child will make any effort to block the adoption or attempt to get custody of the child himself."

The law was introduced last year by Florida Governor Jeb Bush, President George W Bush's brother, but is only just starting to take effect.