PENNSYLVANIA
Philly.comi

PAUL A. OFFIT
POSTED: Thursday, May 9, 2013

The Jerry Sandusky scandal at Penn State generated a public outcry for stronger laws against child abuse and neglect. Several bills have been introduced that purportedly provide a “complete overhaul” of Pennsylvania’s child-protection laws.

For example, Senate Bill 20 makes it clear that any adult who “causes serious bodily injury,” either by “kicking, biting, stabbing, cutting, or throwing a child,” or “forcefully shakes or slaps a child under one year of age,” or “causes serious physical neglect,” or “causes a child to be near a methamphetamine lab,” or “operates a vehicle in which a child is a passenger while driving under the influence of alcohol,” has committed child abuse.

Unfortunately, one group of children has been left behind.

The bill states that “if a child has not been provided needed medical or surgical care because of seriously held…