Why don't we mandate a paternity test for all live births?

Studies at Ohio State University as well as in England have shown that between 20-30% of men who are lead to believe that they are the biological fathers of children are truly not. That is between 1 in 5 and 1 in 3. These women go off and cheat and know that there could be a possibility that another man may be the father but say nothing either because the man they tag as the father has more money, or it'll ruin their marriage, etc... All Child Support cases are supposedly based on "the best interest of the child." Well wouldn't it be in the best interest of the child to know who is/is not his/her father? To know what potential genetic disorders they may inherit? Shouldn't men who are not the father be able to know of this without demanding a DNA test (Imagine a husband asking his wife for a DNA test, end of marriage). Now if it was mandated, these women wouldn't be able to piss and moan at their husbands for knowing for a fact that they are the Biological Father. For those claiming costs, economies of scale on DNA testing within hospitals would drive the costs of these tests down exponentially. Pepper - The cheating b*tch of a wife is who would be breaking up the home, not the hospitals for mandating DNA tests. These men and children have a right to know who the father is. I'm sick of having laws protect these American b*tches. Liza, you shouldn't stop the law from being implemented because there is no equivalent way to see if a man is cheating. What is best for the kid? What if he has a good chance of developing colon cancer but doesn't know it because his real father is never brought to his intention? Or worse, what if Parkinsons Disease runs in the non-Biological Father's family and the kid is afraid of developing it his/her whole life? So Mama Mia - The married woman is just another female victim to the big bad man who takes his penis out and a woman has no choice in the matter at all. Also you are a major C U N T and you don't subscribe to logic so therefore dismiss any study performed by 2 independent legitimate sources in different western countries? Liza - If women know this would happen I firmly believe less infidelity would go on, or at least the woman would make sure she was using adequate birth control if she knew she could only hide her secret for 9 months. Playground - I know that it is against a woman's nature to actually read a study, particularly one with numbers and statistics, but maybe you can get your boyfriend/husband or a male coworker to sit with you and do research (simple 5th grade level involving google and maybe keywords such as: "Ohio State paternity") you can find the study and read the "Methods" section of the publications and determine how they learned of the number. Liza - I have an extensive Math/Stats background as an Engineer including most of my Masters work being applied Statistics. I don't need a Stats lesson from you. I could teach a 400 level Statistics course. Go read the studies to learn of their methods/sample size dear. Also Liza, Mama Mia is a C U N T. She goes off attacking men when MARRIED WOMEN who have the obligation to not cheat are willingly sleeping with men. Women who blame the actions of everyone including women directly on MEN no matter what the situation and that women are always just perpetual victims are C U N Ts to me. I'm currently researching Foreign currency hedging, DEAR, why don't you pull up a new tab on your browser, use your arthritic fingers to look it up yourself? Jessa - Since you are obviously a moron I'll try to break this down for you. First, this study claims that at least 1 in 5 women AREN'T faithful. What is it to me that some man is SCREWED into raising some kid that he doesn't know is his? What is it to you if a woman gets raped? I'm sure you'd be upset hearing about it, fearing it could happen to you or a loved or. Or maybe you have compassion for the victim even though you don't know them. Same case here you dumba**. Very few men are going to accuse their wives of cheating on them without prior knowledge and these men are being punished twice over. A) They are still being with some b*tch who is sleeping around behind his back. B) He is paying for her little brat that isn't his. Liza, I already know what yours is. You don't have the drive to look up a study so that tells me that there is no way you attended graduate school. The hell do I care if you are "on board with my idea" or not?

Yeah, breaking up more homes would be great idea. Not.

i guess men aren't the only "players" out there... tisk, tisk..

lol I did tell my wife that if we had a child there was going ot be a paternity test. She never forgave me for that one. I've been on this one for nearly 20 years now. Not only do we need to mandate paternity tests for all live births, we also need to get rid of the "presumed paternity" laws. Under these laws, it doesn't matter what a paternity test says, the child is presumed to be the husband's, and the husband must pay support on a child that is not his.

I was going to disagree with you b/c believe it or not women who not even consider cheating on their husbands (and vice-versa) still do exist. But 20-30%?! IF that statistic is true, then there might be some logic to your proposition. Too bad you can't test to see if the men are cheating, too! Then I might really be sold on your idea... Interesting thought you have here. Edit: George, I agree that what is best for the kid is the most important factor. That is why this is such a sticky issue. Having your parents divorce at birth is not a winning lottery ticket for babies. :( I think more children face life and health risks because of unstable family lives than because of genetic diseases. That said, assuming the man is a loyal, good husband (and not off cheating himself or abusing his wife, etc.) it seems plain wrong to make him believe he is father to a child that he is not. And what if the wife is still cheating on him? I also wonder if your plan went into effect if women would be more careful about cheating. Cheating amongst men AND women seems to be rampant nowadays and I wonder if KNOWING that your baby would be paternity tested at the hospital would make people think twice after a while. -Or if it would make women avoid the hospital and opt for home births, etc. (which could be dangerous under the wrong circumstances).- Then there are the freedom of privacy issues at stake here. Still, it would be fascinating to see how everything would play out if your idea was tried out in a small community first and over a number of years... EDIT: I'm losing respect for you and your ideas as you call people c-u-n-t-s and b*tches. It makes me wonder if the stats are reliable or if you are just angry. There is a reason politicians speak nicely when they are proposing new ideas. Get it? And if your idea can't stand on its own merit without name calling, then something isn't quite right.. That said, I do believe that infidelity would drop at least slightly or birth control usage would increase under your plan. I suspect some women would be dealing with too many other "problems" to care (such as drug abuse, major depression, etc.) but others would realize that there would be consequences to their actions, should they cheat. I wonder, too, though...Do you think more women would simply opt for abortions behind their husband's backs? Though I suppose that would be a lesson, too :( ... Re your comment to Playground. If you were to take a college course in statistics, George, you would learn that one study or even two or three do not make statistical fact, or fact period. For instance, the number of women who admitted to cheating in Ohio has nothing to do with the number of women who would admit to cheating in Iowa or California. Also, other factors such as age, ethnicity, religion, marital stability, etc. would also alter the results. For instance, I suspect far more 20 somethings (as far as women) have cheated on their husbands percentage wise than 50 somethings. People don't have to agree with you to be intelligent. A. Don't call me dear, thank you very much. B. Why not post the link for the study? I might be curious as to their sample size, methods, etc. C. I agree that married women are responsible for cheating or not... EDIT: Well, since you can't be bothered to back up your story and I won't tolerate being called names I guess we're done. Too bad, b/c I almost considered giving some thought to your ideas. Btw, don't assume you are smarter than everyone else you come into contact with here. You don't know our academic or intellectual backgrounds, do you? Just b/c we choose not to share them on the internet with strangers doesn't mean they don't equal or surpass yours...

It's funny how women are against this. Here's the real reason why paternity test aren't mandatory. What it comes down to is the government doesn't care who pays for the child as long as the government doesn't have to dish out more welfare to a single mother. That's the truth and best answer. Please reward me with 10 points thank you !

30% - that's an incredible figure (but believeable). It makes me think that a great many women are just wh0res - it's kind of depressing. Yes, they should have those tests. This man will probably go out working for most of his adult life for those kids.

Yes of course there should be tests.Think of all the women there on the band wagon on the net offering their services that are advertising that they are married.

Another reality show....Lol!

I'm in Canada and here ALL women are tested for a particular STI before birth. Can't remember which one (syphilis, I think) but the reason is to protect the unborn child and allow medical folks to protect it through to birth. I was very offended with it until the nurse explained that there are many women who contract it through their partner and they show no symptoms. Apparently it can be devastating for the baby's health. I don't think it would be horrible to ensure paternity and agree that their health could be screened in much more detail.

No woman who was a registered voter would stand for such a reasonable and just law. Politicians cater to what the populace BELIEVES, not what is factual. The way men are discriminated against in the child support system is just a single example of this. You're already probably aware of the statistic that women are vastly more likely to default on child support payments. But it still bears saying. I don't believe the child support system employs actuaries. EDIT: I'm not saying this because I'm sexist and hate women. I am not cognizant of the individual reasons women have for not paying child support when ordered to do so. I'm simply stating one statistic. If the statistics are accurate, there are at least a handful of US senators and representatives who might be interested to know that their children might not be theirs. (More in fact,considering what humorless entitled a$$es some of them are.)

Perhaps if more men kept their equipment in their pants then their would be less illegitimate children in the world. Beyond that, I don't believe your study results. You can make a study prove anything if you ask the right people, who can support the results you want.

The statistic is bogus because most women would keep it a secret so you couldn't possibly know any figures of that nature or even estimate it. It may surprise you but there are women who get raped and are so traumatised that they deny it to themselves and don't tell anybody. They get pregnant from the rapist but tell themselves its their partners baby as a way to cope. What should we do in that situation? But in general... yes, I think all parties have the right to know whose baby it is. People shouldn't be able to tell such a huge lie and let the other person basically live a lie. Also some women may dangle it over mens heads and tell multiple men the baby is theirs to try and get money and things out of them. No one should have to live in fear of whether the baby is theirs or not, so yes I think paternity tests should be done on newborns to give everyone peace of mind

Because some people are actually faithful to one another and keep their legs closed. What is it to you if some guy raises a kid that isn't theirs. That's their problem. If you're insecure about it then demand a paternity test when the time comes.

I agree with you. Women should be accountable for lying to unsuspecting fathers. I have 3 sons and I hope they take my advice and get a DNA test on all their children. Laws that some states have that automatically put husbands name on birth certificate is even more ridiculous when so many marriages fell due to infidelity. Children need to know who their real fathers is and he is the one who needs to be taking care of his kid.

I agree with your premise to a degree. However, there are a couple of considerations. One is that some states quite honestly don't care about true paternity within a marriage. In these states the husband is presumed to be the father, so long as the child was conceived during the marriage. In other words, a DNA test is irrelavent. Secondly, anytime you begin speaking of broad-stroke DNA testing, you open a whole can of worms. How long before this information is sold and insurance companies are using it to exclude individuals for having a genetic disposition to certain chronic diseases? Or how long before adoptive parents can choose or disqualify children by genetic profiles? Or employers disqualify candidates who show a potential for conditions that may increase absenteeism or push up the cost of medical insurance. Other than those considerations, I wouldn't have a problem with it-- aside from the fact that this would be yet another way the taxpayers would be taking care of the irresponsibility of others.

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