Should paternity tests be mandatory when a child is born? (Details )

Why? What trouble would it save later on? And what about maternity tests as well? It is no longer a given that the woman who gives birth to the child is the genetic mother.

It could also cause more problems than it avoids!

Most of the time it would not be necessary, and those times when it would, it could ruin people’s lives. Why should the government be legislating this?

Ask Johnny Mathis

They DO take DNA samples at birth now and that kind of bugs me.

@Judi, that’s awful! Here’s the ACLU article about that. I had no idea!

Paternity isn’t about sperm for me. Sure, it would say who the biological father is, but that’s not parenting and fathering. There are plenty of fathers out there who didn’t participate in the generation of a fetus, but who undoubtedly are participating in moulding a human being.

“Maury, I know I been here 10 times already, but this time I am 1001% sure. William is my baby-daddy!”

“William, you are not the father!”

Well . The most obvious benefit would be that men would know they are raising “their ” child. I for one wouldn’t have a problem raising a child if it weren’t mine, but only if the mother isn’t trying to fool me into thinking that the child is mine.

Weather a man can be a good father to a kid that isn’t his is not something I’m debating.

But I wonder how many men are working two jobs to pay for a child that isn’t theirs.

@canidmajor , how could a woman not know she’s the mother? Assuming she’s not a surrogate?

If you have questions about the paternity of the child you’re raising then something’s seriously wrong with you’re relationship.

^Agreed.

So if you have no questions about paternity then why would a test be needed?

Like I said, I didn’t ask the question for personal reasons. But I’ve been cheated on before by several women. All of whom I trusted. So, I guess it would have been nice if they ended up pregnant.

I was under no impression that you asked for personal reasons. I just question the necessity or desirability of mandated paternity testing.

I guess I felt that if it were manditory, it would prevent some men from being scammed.

Make the right man accountable.

Make the women accountable.

Also, the children would ‘know’ who their parents are.

There was another thread about this(paternity tests) in General , and it reminded me of Maury’s guests I had recently had the displeasure of witnessing.

The inference being that a large number of women are cheating and manipulating the wrong man to pay child support for children that are not their own. I’d like to see some statistics that prove this is really a major problem.

^Please forgive me. That was not my intended inference. I specifically mentioned in the response above that it would hold men accountable as well. Which it would.

If a girl was unsure of the father, the man could potentially be found,and held liable, if unwilling to accept responsibility.

@MrGrimm888 you said nothing about what the woman (or man, for that matter) knows.

But to answer your question, a woman could be implanted with someone else’s embryo during a procedure that she believed to be Intra-uterine insemination, or an embryo from her own harvested egg. That’s how.

I agree with @Earthbound_Misfit, despite your flimsy disclaimer above, the implication is pretty obvious.

Well intended or not it kinda reads like “congratulations on the new baby, now prove you’re not a whore”.

Intended or not, it is impossible not to notice the sexist undertone of this question.

I’ll probably regret asking, but what makes it sexist?

I asked a question about sterilization of people commit too many crimes. And the main example was a male. Nobody called it sexism on that thread, that I recall.

As long as the mother hasn’t been with anyone other than the man she’s telling the child belongs to, there’s nothing to worry about.

As I’ve already stated, this is really a question about Maury situations. When the mother isn’t sure of the father. I wouldn’t call a woman a whore for being with more than one man in 9 months.

The children would always have either,the right father, or the actual father would be held at least financially responsible for each child.

Maybe I’m too sexist to see how it wouldn’t benefit both genders…And the children.

As other people have already pointed out, you are implying that all women are cheating whores.

Your comparison to the other thread is a false equivalence.

“Maybe I’m too sexist”

yup.

If you lack the imagination to understand why women should be reasonably offended, even outraged, at the imposition of legally mandated paternity tests, then you are indeed “too sexist.”

Ok. Thanks for clearing that up.

Now you’re pulling the “if you’ve got nothing to hide then why do you care” card? Really dude?

Oh, and if you’re using Maury and the like as the basis for your argument you should know that all that shit’s staged anyway. All in the name of tawdry entertainment.

No. I get it.

It’s sexist to want a kid to know who their parents are.

Sexist to make a man pay child support if he won’t be the father.

Sexist to suggest women know who the father is.

Sexist to not want someone to raise a kid they don’t know isn’t theirs.

Sexist to ensure a man doesn’t pay child support for no reason for 18 years.

Sexist to think some very small amount of women lie
about the father of their child.

Sexist for wanting both genders to be responsible for their actions.

If you don’t think a child’s life is better when they know who their father is, I don’t get that.

Here’s the reality.

Sometimes women don’t know who the father of their child is (fact.)

Sometimes a woman lies to a man and tells him he’s the father, obligating him to raise or be financially responsiblefor the child (fact.)

Sometimes a child isn’t raised by their own father, but they didn’t know it (fact.)

Sometimes men deny that they impregnated a woman, so they won’t have to be responsible (fact.)

Mandatory paternity testing would /should make all parties involved accountable (fact.)

I didn’t make the problems. I was thinking of a solution.

Take it however you want. But the thread is about the proposal of the testing, and it’s potential to either hurt, or benefit society.

Calling me Sexist doesn’t add to the thread. Why not either not respond, or respond with relevant information, or opinion.

I’m not calling women whores. That’s the name,that other jellies used to describe a woman who doesn’t know the father of her child. So PLEASE stop putting words in my mouth to insult me.

It’s juvenile, and not productive.

I’ll say it again for those who don’t read the thread.

A WOMAN IS NOT A WHORE, JUST BECAUSE SHE HAD SEX WITH MORE THAN ONE MAN IN A PERIOD OF 9 MONTHS.

That is NOT what the thread is about.

It’s about forcing responsibility in hopes of bettering society.

I’m aware it brings up inflammatory thoughts. THAT’S THE POINT.

When people get emotionally charged about a subject, it makes for better debate (IMO.)

Juvenile, not productive, is exactly how to describe forcing couples to undergo paternity testing even when they don’t want to and when the child’s parentage is not in question.

^No. That’s called accountability.

It’s an adult thing.

If enacted, this would be as routine as any other test done on a new born(over time.)So ,it wouldn’t be offensive, it would just be reality.

So, it wouldn’t be deemed judgmental, because it was standard .

Is testing for sickle cell racist?

African Americans were historically from regions where Malaria was more prevalent. NOT a race thing. Hence, they are more prevalent to having the blood disorder, they are more likely to be tested for it.

If your testing my child for autism, or for certain diseases, why not additionally help society by ensuring that both parents be responsible.

The ANTI argument to this question seems to be that it insinuates infidelity, or promiscuity.

I’m aware of that side to it, but that’s not my focus at all.

I think some are putting their own flavor on this question, and that’s not what the thread was on intended for.

Perhaps one of you could start your own thread about maybe ; ’ does a request for a paternity test mean there is a trust issue?’

That would be more on topic, than what I’m reading.

If I tell you that my boyfriend is the father of my children, then who the fuck are you to tell me to prove it?

You want to talk about parental accountability? Why not force new parents to take child – rearing classes, or get certified in infant cpr? How does the government putting its nose in people’s private sex life force them to be responsible?

@MrGrimm888

Clearly you don’t get it. Your entire proposal is built upon an assumption of guilty until proven innocent.

Nope. YOU clearly don’t get it. IT was just a question for debate /conversation. Not the way I view people, not about me.

Thinest skin on the Internet award goes to Flutherites.

They take everything personally unfortunately.

Yes, it was a question for debate and we are debating it. Or did you simply expect everyone to meekly agree with your premise?

Agree or disagree. Calling me sexist ,is irrelevant to the thread.

You might have a point there if I had called you sexist.

Pardon me @Darth_Algar . I was referring to several responses.
@AnonymousAccount8 called me sexist.

It was you though, that called women whores , if they didn’t know the father…

That is what I call putting words in my mouth , and unproductive.

Prove your the mother or you’re a whore, was NOT my rhetoric.

So. Now that we know it’s a sexist question.

What are the negative side effects of mandatory paternity tests?...

That line was a sarcastic quip to underscore the guilty until proven innocent premise of your question. There’s absolutely no reason to mandate paternity tests. Indeed the implementation of such would spit in the face of essential principals and rights we hold dear. Namely the principal of innocent until proven guilty, the right to privacy and the constitutional protections against unreasonable search and seizure.

@MrGrimm888 it’s not irrelevant. You asked a shitty question, and you got called out for it.

We’re the thin-skinned ones, yet you’re the one crying because you got answers that you didn’t like.

I didn’t actually call women whores, I was being rhetorical, to help illustrate why the question you asked is offensive.

K. So there are no negative impacts?

@Darth_Algar . YES it would probably fall into the violation of privacy.

What about the child? Doesn’t it have the right to know who it’s parents are?

Let me try to explain. I don’t trust ANYONE. This issue, to me, is about trust. I don’t trust women. BUT I don’t trust men either. NOT when it comes to something so important, as paternity.

If men were the ones who had children, I would still have asked the question. Especially after watching Maury. I.don’t think women are less trustworthy than men. But telling someone a child is theirs is a big deal.

Most women I know constantly check through their man’s phone, facebook, and other ‘private ’ things. Are they sexist?

Ok. Now why should your personal issues dictate that a woman prove that her husband of 7 years is the father of their newborn child? If the husband has reason to suspect otherwise that’s on him to pursue. If not then it’s none of anyone else’s (and certainly not the state’s) concern.

My issues are irrelevant. That’s for sure. I was simply explaining my view.

The government is elbow deep in everything else. If this were mandated, it would be offensive at first. Then after a while it would be as run of the mill as any other testing. But it would hold all parties accountable, and guarantee no mix ups. And every child would know who their parents are.

So, back to the point. What are the cons?

The cons have been pointed out. If you refuse to see them then there’s probably no point in further conversation here.

Only @janbb , and @marinelife gave even a semblance of an answer. The rest is just talk about the nature of the question. Perhaps @Darth_Algar , you can point me to the response in this thread. I just reread it again, and I don’t see anything. Nothing specific anyway.

I’ve mulled it over and the only con I can think of is if a woman got caught lying to the man she told was the father.

Pros; The real father can be identified, and held accountable. The man lied to would have some pretty important information. The child would know it’s father. If it’s a single mother ,unsure of the father, that would be the first step in finding out. If the supposed father wants a paternity test, there’s no argument between the couple because the test is mandatory. Simple. Evenbetter,the test could be performed as the baby leaves the hospital. Preventing people from accidentally taking the wrong child.

Relevant :

My roommate’s wife had a female friend who was pregnant. She had been going out with the same guy for 5 years. So we, and indeed him, thought he was the father. While she was pregnant he was SO happy. Always talking about his new son arriving. Buying stuff for it , beaming with pride, and happiness. He and she were both Caucasians. When the child was born, it was African American (or half,or whatever. )
The man was crushed. And had a pretty awkward walk from the hospital, as we all just stared with our jaws on the floor. I haven’t seen him since.

If not for the color difference, he’d still be raising, and paying for someone else’s child. The child would never have known it’s father.

The girl now has 4 children. From 4 different men. The only one that she knows who the father is,is the black one. And she gave up custody of him to his father. She only claims her white children on Facebook, and has no role in his life.

I personally know of several other women with similar stories. One being my cousin.

I’ll repeat – If the husband has reason to suspect otherwise that’s on him to pursue. If not then it’s none of anyone else’s (and certainly not the state’s) concern.

At this point I think you’re just being willfully obtuse.

Understood. I’ll let it go. Thank you for your contributions.