Personally, I think if one in 25 mothers were unknowingly raising a child they thought was theirs, but in fact wasn’t, such a thing would be treated as a massive societal issue. Imagine, millions of mothers, pouring their hearts, soul, time, and money into a child, sometimes for years, only to find out that there’s been a mix up, and it isn’t even her child… The level of betrayal and devastation would be incomprehensible, not to mention breaking news, and cause for huge national concern, protest and intervention… And yet this is the heart breaking reality for countless men, and it slips quietly through public consciousness without a second thought. When it comes to false paternity, the numbers are notoriously hard to pin down, but best estimates tell us that about 3–4% of fathers are raising children they think are theirs, but in fact, belong to another man. So what do we do about it? Many voices are asking that fathers be given routine DNA tests, to destigmatise such a procedure; adding it to the long list of routine and mundane medical tests, that all babies have done upon birth. Others find such a suggestion to be offensive, misogynistic, and even grounds for a divorce… The gap in opinion couldn’t be wider, making it a conversation that is not going away, nor one without controversy. So should DNA tests be routine? Does a man have the right to assurance as a mother? I know, it can be offensive to make a suggestion, and believe me, to be treated unfavourably due to the actions of a tiny minority of people like you, is something ‘men’ know all too well. So what do you suggest? Do we change nothing? Is the heartbreak of countless men, and the loss of their fatherhood, a small price to pay, to spare women of their blushes? Is such a thing out of touch, or entirely reasonable? What do you think? ~ Images by Wesley Tingley, Humphrey Muleba, Brook Cagle, Altoa Heftiba, Alben Iwara, National Cancer Institute. False Paternity Study 

2024-07-29