I have been reading many forums lately about the idea of requiring all fathers to be proven by DNA test at birth before being allowed on the birth certificate.  The opinions on the matter are varied and generally very vehement.

Everyone seems to have a story of someone who would have benefited from this testing at birth idea.  A husband who had a cheating spouse and he didn’t know about the affair until after the child was born and birth certificate signed.  These people believe it would be a way to avoid paternity fraud or the “wrong” people being allowed to spend time with a child.

There are fewer stories of those who knew they were not the father and signed the birth certificate, anyway. They wanted to be a father to these children and may not have been given the opportunity had a DNA test been required to add his name in the first place.

There are conspiracy theorists that the government would use the information collected from these DNA tests for their own benefit.  Although, no one can say exactly how they would do use this information.  I am not certain I believe this idea, but there is plenty of fear around it. Also, these same people bring up the question, “Who is going to pay for all this testing?”

Certainly we cannot expect every family to pay for a paternity test or can we?  Can we ask tax payers to pony up these fees?  Do we just add it to a list of procedures required in the birth of a child and therefore bill it to insurance agencies?  Where do the funds come from?

Many people, mostly women, take the idea of at birth paternity tests personally.  They are frustrated by the idea of assuming that the mother is lying from the get go.  Although, there were other women who took the stance of, “If you have nothing to fear, why get upset?” Both of these perspectives strike a chord in me, but I am trying not to approach this from a gendered perspective.

I, personally, do not believe that this is a good idea.  There are many reasons, and I will follow up with my reasons, after everyone else posts theirs.  Have a good one.