I’m not quite sure where to start with this one, so I’ll let the article speak for itself.

‘…what about the good guys who get the shaft, themselves—the men who cherish being fathers, only to discover later that the children they thought were their offspring are biologically someone else’s?….in over 30 percent of paternity cases sent in for testing, the wrong man is identified as the biological father….’

‘…[he] forced the courts to update paternity laws hearkening back to King Henry VIII when, through a simple DNA test, he discovered he’d been supporting a daughter for 10 years who wasn’t his, biologically. Says Smith: “Wrongly forcing a man to pay for children he did not father can wreck his life and prevent him from being able to provide for his own family.”…’

‘…We all have a moral and legal right to know where we came from, who our blood relatives are, what our family medical history entails….’

‘…”…Out of 145 paternity disestablishments (through November) [in Orange County, California], 37 of those weren’t the biological dad” and they were relieved of their child support obligations….”A lot of people don’t ask, when really they should. It’s one of the reasons we encourage both moms and dads to get testing.”

Have nagging doubts, yourself? Request the test. It’s free. Besides, I can’t think of a better way to start a new day than to know exactly who your own children are.’

Read more →
Staten Island Advance

I can think of a few.

I know I’m incredibly naive about many things, but I had no idea we’d reached a point where paternity testing is now standard practice; or at least encouraged to become so.

What surprised me was that this isn’t a commentary about the need for paternity testing—or the poor decisions which lead to it. It’s simply a ‘Hey, this is a really good idea!’ This is an installment of the author’s weekly column, Single Parenthood. Would any single parents care to share their thoughts about this advice?

When all’s said and tested, there’s still a child caught in the middle.

[Update: Apparently August is National Child Support Month. Who knew, apart from Delaware?]