1 in 25 Men Might Be Raising Another Man's Child....

[Kitty C.]

You need to think of the broader picture.  This isn't to point fingers at anyone to see who's cheating and who isn't.  Think about the child and the genetic history he or she carries.  If that child ends up with some congenital disease, many times that's when fathers find out they aren't biological.

This isn't to point fingers and place blame, it's for the safety and well-being of the child.  And personally, given the circumstances and reasons pro and con, I'd be more than happy to have DNA testing done, if it means that my child's future health is protected.  Like I said, those who have nothing to hide, hide nothing.

[penny]

I think DNA testing is a great idea. In cases of medical emergency, knowing the biological parents would be great advantage to the child. What kind of trama would be created to the father to find out that he cannot donate blood or kidney because he is not the bio dad? Is it fair to the child not to know their real dad? Is it right for the real bio father not to know he has a child? Maybe there is a set of grandparents out there, who would love to have a grandchild that they didn't know they had. Why shouldn't the woman fess up to being unfaithfull? If we had mandatory DNA testing, maybe there would be alot less screwing around? Guys wouldn't have to pay support on kids that are not theirs. Marriage is built on trust, what kind of marriage can it be if one person has been lied to for years. If babies were tested at birth, it would sure save alot of headaches and heartaches for everyone involved and maybe the life of a child in medical emergency.

[4honor]

If DNA should ever be done at birth (as a rule) then medical databases would have information on your genetics on file... how many young adults would grow up and not be able to obtain life insurance because they carry the cancer genes in their DNA?

I support the testing of paternity only and at birth. Embarassing for the BM? Well, she shouldn't have bared it and shared it so much to begin with.

[Kent]

This is an interesting article...
Not at all trying to defend sleep-around-wives, and it would be interesting to know how common this is. (My guess though, not very often)


FYI...

I saw a program on the Discover Channel this weekend about people who were their own twin. There were two women who had DNA testing and their children didn't have their DNA. One woman was in court to prove the paternity of her boyfriend and found her DNA didn't match the children's DNA. Since she was getting government assistance, the children were taken from her. They said she was trying to commit fraud. However, extensive DNA testing showed she was the mother. They took samples from different organs, etc. The judge in the case stated, I wonder how many men may be chimeras and DNA showed they weren't the father? So, now who knows, DNA testing may get more complex.

The term "chimera" (ki-MER-ah) has two definitions, the first being the mixture of two or more individuals in a single body. In humans this can occur at the beginning of cell division after conception, and two separate embryos are formed (twins). If these two embryos fuse together in part but not wholly the twins born are co-joined in some part of their anatomy, sharing it, and are known as Siamese twins. However, if the two embryos are fused together and become one single embryo, the embryo carries two separate yet complete sets of DNA, and the genetic code for two separate individuals in one single embryo. This child born is then known as a "chimera."

They even talked about children where two embroyos fused together, one male and one female, creating a child that was half of one gender and half of the other gender.

[Kitty C.]

...Only if the DNA testing done includes a request for those specific anomalies.  When DNA testing is ordered, it must be specific as to what is being looked at, not unlike blood testing.  If a blood sample is taken, they don't run it for 'everything', only specific tests.  Same with DNA, if ordered to determine parentage, that is the ONLY thing they will be looking at.  To involve considering all possible genetic anomalies would increase the cost dramatically and take weeks or even months to get results on.  

DNA and blood testing is the same, in that there must be a SPECIFIC request of what they are looking for, but different in that it takes an inordinate amount of time to get results when a broad spectrum of testing is requested.

So if DNA testing is requested to establish paternity ONLY, that is the ONLY result that will be registered.