The Importance of Knowing the Truth
“You are NOT the father”! Words you can hear with the exact tone and inflection in the back of your mind when you think of paternity testing. So what happens when you find out you are NOT the father? If you have been living under the same roof and raising the child in question, you probably aren’t feeling too happy to hear this news. The same goes for responsible fathers paying child support to a child that is not biologically theirs. The deception and pain is unimaginable.
How many people knew this but you? How could your partner allow this to happen? What to do from here? Wow! A lot to think about! Several researchers peg the non-paternity rate (the percent of men who think they are the biological father, but in reality are not) at 10% worldwide. So that means 1 in every 10 fathers is not really the biological father. An interesting statistic is that if a man wonders about his paternity and decides to take a paternity test, 29% of the time he will find his suspicions confirmed. This means that 3 of every 10 men who have a paternity doubt are not the biological father.
Source: http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1086/504167
The message here is that men who question paternity should have a paternity test. The sooner the better. After the child is born, a simple cheek swab from an infant, along with the alleged father’s cheek swab, is all that is needed to answer this important question.
A few of the many reasons paternity tests are important:
1. Sense of Identity – a child knowing to whom they are biologically linked
2. Health History – hereditary factors influence preventative health measures
3. Financial support – many households require two incomes to keep up with the cost of living
4. Benefits – health insurance, social security and veteran benefits benefit biological children
5. Government Aid – Paternity allows parents to seek government assistance if they qualify.