Why don't we mandate paternity tests 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.

Step away from the keyboard and go take your meds.

Women are just as noted for cheating as men are. No need to mandate anything....how about we just TEACH our kids some common sense on how to spot people like this. Wouldn't that be easier?

I agree with you. The maury show is a big example that paternity is needed.

Because most people know who the father is, so requiring a paternity test would be useless for many people. "Well wouldn't it be in the best interest of the child to know who is/is not his/her father?" Not always. For example, if the mother was raped or the father was a dead beat in jail then the true identity of the father might cause the child more grief than necessary. "These women go off and cheat...." "Imagine a husband asking his wife for a DNA test, end of marriage" Well, if you have the woman categorized already into "these woman" and "those woman" then maybe the man wondering about the true father of the child should look into marriage therapy. If the husband has any doubt that they are not the father of the child than simply asking for the DNA test won't be the root of the divorce.

if you have doubts,then get tested just don't make me or an insurance company pay for your uncertainty

Horseshit. It's 2% and it has been since we started doing paternity tests. You are FULLofSHIT, as usual, you lonely bitter frustrated toxic loser asshole.

The 20-30% that these studies are indicating doesn't tell you about the population involved. Clearly, they are not differentiating married couples vs. unmarried couples. Unless they change the laws making husband's no longer automatically the father, government cannot demand DNA testing. These couples can choose to do so or not. I personally think that they should for their own knowledge. If a couple who is unmarried chooses not to do DNA testing, he, at least, is dumber than a box of rocks. Cost is not an issue. Paternity testing can be done for under $100. It costs more than that at local labs because they are trying to suck up the profits before they have to compete more.

George, you already know, according to the laws in this country "the best interest of the child" exactly equals "the best interest of the mother." That's because mothers can vote, children can't. Mothers can write to complain to congress, children can't. You should also know that there are zero government agencies that care about anybody's rights, much less that of children or fathers. They care about getting paid to do whatever the hell the laws *suggest* they're allowed to do. (nods to Eric Holder) But otherwise, I totally agree with you. You could shutter a hell of a lot of child support cases just by demanding a paternity test before any payments are due. On the other hand that would significantly ease the backlog of cases at most CFPS offices, and that would mean they'd have to layoff some of their pencil-pushers. And we wouldn't want to lose more "jobs" now would we? No matter how counterproductive they are.

@CarbonDated: Cost IS an issue when the taxpayers that are already paying for others' medical care have to pick up the tab for paternity tests on top of everything else. It's not mandated because it's not necessary and I don't have to pay for someone else's lies. (Yet).

Because it is considered a violation of the privacy rights of

I think it should not be made mandatory. It is quite an insult to the mothers even though we are now offering prenatal testing.

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