Paternity Test – Determining Parentage isn’t New
The paternity test is the latest and most accurate way of determining fatherhood.
Determining the paternity of children is an age-old problem. Mothers are often either unsure about the exact paternity of their child, or deliberately mislead in order to avoid trouble, or because one man may be seen as potentially a a better provider for the child that another man. This isn’t a new thing, brought on by the introduction of the Child Support Agency, it’s a problem that stretches back into the depths of human history.
Paternity test - what’s new?
What is new is the accuracy with which a paternity test can prove whether or not someone is the father of a particular child. Nowadays, when a father suspects that a child may not be his, or a mother disputes paternity, a simple DNA paternity test can give a highly accurate indication of paternity. The paternity test is now commonplace, with a large number of clinics across the UK offering paternity test services. Fathers can now tell with over 99.9% certainty whether they are the father of a child – and 100% accuracy if they are not.
Paternity test - the old way
Fathers are only just reaping the benefits of these scientific advances, however. Before the introduction of the paternity test, paternity was determined in a far less scientific way:
- Taking the word of the mother – before the biological paternity test existed, paternity was decided on the mother’s word. Unless the father could prove his absence at conception, or even impotence, then mother's word was enough to declare the alleged father liable for financial and moral responsibility for the child.
- Blackmail – it wasn’t unusual for a mother to blackmail either the true father or an alleged father, particularly where an illegitimate child may tarnish his reputation.
- Looks – a father may challenge his paternity on the grounds of similarity. Even back when DNA was many years from being discovered people knew that looks, hair and eye colour and other traits were passed from one generation to the next. A child who looked completely unlike his or her father may have aroused suspicion, but if nothing could be proven the father had to maintain his responsibilities.
Paternity test - the new way
It wasn’t until the scientific advances of the 20th century, that the paternity test enabled testing of paternity on a biological basis. Blood matching, also used in criminal investigations, was used to test the likelihood of paternity, but lacked the absolute certainty that mothers, fathers and the courts required. This degree of accuracy only came with the development of the DNA paternity test, which is now used worldwide to identify fathers for a wide range of purposes. |
