Aaron Clark, May 1, 2007
Oregon lawmakers advanced a bill Monday they said will clamp down on child abuse and neglect and make it easier for authorities to identify children victimized by adults.
Known as "Karly's Law," after a 3-year-old girl who was tortured and killed by an abusive adult, the bill would require children involved in ongoing child abuse investigations with "suspicious physical injury" to undergo a medical assessment within 48 hours by a doctor trained to identify child abuse.
Sponsored by Rep. Sara Gelser, D-Corvallis, the legislation was approved unanimously by the Oregon House and now moves to the Senate.
"No one likes to talk about child abuse," Gelser said. "The truth is an average of 19 children die each year as a result of child abuse here in Oregon. Far more live in terror every day knowing that the very adults who are supposed to protect them, instead, strike them with their hands, fists or worse."