Don’t Live in Ignorance – Know Who Your Father is

Is he really my father? Don’t live in ignorance – know who your father is. As figures in the UK and across the western world show, there is an increase in the number of children born to couples who are not the biological offspring of the supposed father. This could be down to the fact that more and more couples are taking a DNA paternity test revealing greater discrepancies, or it could be down to the increasing instability of relationships and marriage.

Avoiding a DNA Paternity Test

Many hold by the argument that nurture not nature is more important and that a DNA paternity test can only cause pain. A DNA paternity test is taken for a number of reasons – for child support and legal definition; for diagnosis of genetic disorders and because of an extra-marital affair – but there is no doubt that there are always a few surprises. If a man discovers he is not the father after a DNA paternity test, it can break up families and confuse and hurt children who thought they knew who their dads were. But censoring the truth or avoiding taking a DNA paternity test isn’t necessarily the right way forward. A very similar issue arises with sperm donor dads where on sees the impact on identity experienced by adults conceived by donor insemination.

Doubt and Suspicion

Avoiding taking a DNA paternity test can be equally as damaging – causing doubt and suspicion that can damage families too.

A report by the Liverpool John Moores University team stated that up to one in 25 fathers in the UK could be unknowingly raising another man’s child. But there is an increasing movement towards the rights of children and it is recognised that it is in their interests that they have the right to know their biological parents. This is clear in the UK where they have now taken the anonymity away from sperm donors so the resulting offspring can know their biological fathers by taking a DNA paternity test.

The Truth with a DNA Paternity Test

Knowing more about the truth from a DNA paternity test can offer men and children more informed decisions. Collecting DNA samples could not be easier. Paternity can never be 100% certain without a DNA paternity test. Society has always had a problem with paternity surprises, but now thanks to new technology – namely the DNA paternity test – there is a way to solve the problem and put to rest doubts and suspicions, which can only be a positive thing for the child in question. Paternity surprises exist and are part of relationships, many sociologists believe the best way to address the problem is to try and solve it by facing the truth, rather than hiding it and living a lie.