How about both worlds? Make the DNA testing mandatory, but make the results voluntary to view. Either mother, father/spouse, and father/not spouse, or even the child themselves, have access to their genetic linkage by calling some records company who wherehouses this info for up to 18 years (or beyond) and you can access your own “linkage” to find out:
- Who is your mom and your dad (if you’re the child, later on in life)
- Who are the children you gave birth to and who is the father of each. (mother’s section of course)
- Who are the children you have fathered biologically (any male can access this to find what kids are his, or any sower of seeds who will find out if there is a kid in this world that’s his and who he should be supporting)
- Who are your half brothers/sisters in this world. (this section should be entertaining!)
Anybody could call and access their OWN record through SSN#, passwords, or other identifications. You can be either the ignorant father for years until some legal issue comes up, and then make one phone call to see if your gonna support or walk, or don’t make the call and remain forever faithful to your wife and live life in the '50s…
(This is a rough model of course, which can be easily refined - any suggestions?)
Also, another instance where a father has loved and raised a kid for about 12 years, and then went through divorce and is tapped for support, found out later that that the kid was not his, but loved him enough to support that child until he was 18; except HE set the amount of support and controlled the expenditures instead of the court system or the ex-wife - so there are men who do love kids that weren’t theirs, and not just bolt after winning a paternity case.
Not sarcasm, drachillix, something else.
Let’s say, for exercise, that lie detector testing is as accurate as DNA profiling.
Ok, so at every birth both the purported mom and dad are required to submit to this infallible polygraph test and testify as to the paternity/maternity of the newborn. They both must swear that the baby is the direct biological offspring of each other. And that they haven’t been unfaithful to each other.
I was just wondering if this would work for those who are in favor of mandatory testing.
I would, by the way, be opposed to this too.
OK
What good does testing dad do in this scenario?
Easy there boss, we are not out to find the cheaters, just the deadbeat dads. An adullterous relationship is one thing, CS fraud is a whole nuther ball o’ wax.
IMHO it is ridiculous to propose blanket, mandatory testing to catch out those 10% that may be affected. What an utter waste of time, resources and money.
IANAL, but I, like many people, have been through the child support thing. In Texas, mandatory testing would be moot because a child born within a marriage is legally the husband’s, even if subsequent paternity testing proves he is not the biological father. Furthermore, in child support cases testing is already mandatory when either party questions paternity. Lastly, welfare is contingent on establishing paternity - but, unfortunately, no law can force a woman to name a father when she says “I don’t know who the father is”. Any of these laws may have changed in the last 18 years but from what I understand they haven’t. If anyone knows better please correct me.
So, in Texas anyway, it is already mandatory in those cases when it is necessary and useful for it to be mandatory.
drachillix
Truth testing dad right along with mom would even things out, and take the onus off of him. It would also prove his faithfullness (and mom’s) and make mom happy.
Many men on this thread are very worried about their partner’s potential for cheating. While we’re at it, why not have monthly mandatory infallible polygraph testing for all couples.
I’ll add a ;), just for lorinada, to show I’m kidding. Mostly.
Peace,
mangeorge
Sorry I am not out to become the thought police.
If baby may or may not be hubbys but is, thats all that matters…his kid…his responsibility not his kid, somebody else is gonna pony up for the bill.
If the wife was doing the horizontal lambada with the pool boy too that is a whole separate situation to the paternity of the chiild.
Read some of the other posts here if you think that’s all that matters.
In fact, a lot of men have been willing for their wife to carry another man’s child - as long as it’s by artificial insemination.
I’m just saying that mandatory DNA testing isn’t so different from mandatory polygraph testing. Does the end justify the means?
This thread made me a little curious so I did a little googling…check out this
According to this place:
Bolding mine
So it doesn’t even need to be the father who wonders…could be almost anyone from his side of the family…two seconds with the baby and a cotton swab and send in a check…a few weeks later they’d know…one way or the other.
I do support the father’s right to paternity testing, but absolutely not without the mother’s consent. I’m going to take my own case as an example.
I have a child from a short-term relationship. I have not claimed child support, but if I did I would understand the father requesting a paternity test, and actually I’d love for that to happen - that way my daughter knows her genetic lineage for certain.
However, I would want to be there in the room when they take the samples. I would want to know where and how the test was done. I would want to be absolutely certain that my child’s biological father hadn’t fudged the test somehow.
If he turned up and said hey, I got a test done, I’m not the Dad, ner ner, how could I be sure that he hadn’t used a friend’s sample, or bribed the lab technicians, or fudged the test in some other way? I could request another test, but that’s still more delay and uncertainty and it would be very distressing for the child, if he/she were old enough to understand what’s going on.
When we’re talking about thousands of £/$ of child support money (as well as a child knowing its genetic lineage), ensuring that all participants are fully aware of all the procedures is not too much to ask.
TommyTurtle - there are two problems with that: 1) DNA testing is not 100% accurate even when the alleged father is the one being tested. 2) Testing a sibling or other relation would only work if you were certain that that relation really was related to the alleged father. If mandatory testing is partly justified by the ‘10%’ statistic, it would be hypocritical to then go ahead and assume that the siblings of the alleged father definitely are related to him. You’d have to test the father to compare his DNA to his siblings, so he’d end up being tested anyway.
A DNA databse would be useless for determining the paternity of a child. Most tests performed are only 99% accurate. Therefore if you test a child and then compare its DNA to that of all the men on the database, a few thousand potential Dads will show up. Doesn’t really narrow the field down much.
ScifiSam - In the majority of cases, the father would indeed find out that the child was his. There is no reason the mother needs to know that the test was done. All this would do is create anger. The father should not be blackmailed into not having the test done.
In the cases you are talking about, in which the initial test shows that the man is not the father, an additional test should be done with the mother present.
But why not do the first test with the mother present? Why the subterfuge? Who is going to pay for the second test, the alleged father, the mother, the state? Why not do one honest test?
How exactly could ‘the father […] be blackmailed into not having the test done?’ By the mother’s anger or hurt? Would that be enough to deter a man who was really worried that this child may not be his? If the doubt is strong enough in his mind that he wants the test done, surely he can stand his ground and just do it.
I think you are underestimating how angry the mother could be. She might even seek revenge on her partner.
Why cause so much pain and anger when it is so easily avoided? A simple test would greatly ease the mind of the father, and erase any gnawing, perhaps even illogical, doubts. Of course this is mostly a benefit for the father, as it takes a weight, even a misplaced weight, off his mind. But it could also make him a better parent, and it doesn’t hurt anyone.
For those saying that it doesn’t matter if the baby is yours biologically: Would you care if your baby was switched with another in the hospital?
SciFiSam I understand you saying the tests are not 100% accurate proving it IS the father. However I believe if it comes back negative that precludes the that particular man from being the father and that IS 100% accurate.
As far as siblings go I understand what you are saying. But if the sibling isn’t that particular man child that would encourage the guy to test the other kids as well I would think.
Besides couldn’t anyone from the man’s side of the family have that test done with perhaps not 99% accuracy but if it wasn’t his the test would certainly show THAT.
The test could be done by practically anyone from the fathers’ side of the family without neither the mother OR the “fathers’” knowledge in the few seconds it would take to swab the inside of the childs’ cheek.
I’m not sure what I think of all this but the technology seems to be there to do this.
Some people are missing a couple important words in the op;
“Should mandatory DNA proof of paternity be required in all births?”
Peace,
mangeorge