Should Paternity Testing Be Mandatory?

I read this Fathers and Families’ newsletter article in my email on paternity fraud this morning:

End Paternity Fraud: Make DNA Tests Mandatory
By Rita Fuerst Adams, National Executive Director,
Fathers and Families

The GlobalGrind is taking a poll on paternity fraud. Vote now. Pass it along to all your friends and family. With enough votes, it may be helpful to legislation Fathers and Families is promoting to end paternity fraud.

According to the reporter, Christina Coleman, “It’s like a jacked, human form of credit card scam. Paternity fraud. And it happens more often than you think. It is, essentially, a crime.”

Which is why Fathers and Families believes the only solution is widespread DNA testing at birth of children born out of wedlock to determine their true biological paternity.

According to the American Association of Blood Banks, 28% of paternity tests showed the man tested was not the father.

Fathers and Families seeks to:

Require a putative unmarried father to obtain genetic marker testing before signing a paternity acknowledgment form.
Allow the putative father to waive testing only if he is represented by counsel.
Allow him to challenge legal paternity for up to five years by use of genetic marker testing.

DNA testing benefits children by providing them access to their actual paternal fathers and extended family. It gives them an accurate family medical history, thus allowing physicians to better treat acute illnesses and prevent or prepare for genetic illnesses and conditions. It allows them the opportunity to develop a relationship with their fathers who may otherwise not have been aware of them.

Christina Coleman continued, “… we must recognize that paternity fraud is real, and there are many men who are not legally protected from the mental and financial torment the crime breeds. …If we are obligated to protect the well-being and life of citizens, shouldn’t that include protecting them from the psychological shock of a situation that could totally be avoided? Preventative measures. That’s really what healthcare is about anyway.”

The GlobalGrind has more than 2 million readers. Daily, our members ask what they can do to further the cause. Stuff the GlobalGrind ballot box today. It is one more piece of information for us to present to our elected officials. One more way for us to let them know how pervasive these problems are.

What do readers think of mandatory DNA testing at birth–yes or no?