Teens in Australia May be Forced to Take Paternity Test
A new Australian government proposal means that youngsters aged twelve to eighteen may be required to have a paternity test against their wishes.
Paternity Test - Protection of Genetic Information
The proposal forms part of the government's response to a 2003 report on paternity tests and protection of human genetic information.
Another report, by the Australian Law Reform Commission and the National Health and Medical Research Council's Australian Health Ethics Committee, recommends that the government introduce laws giving young people deemed to be of sufficient maturity the choice of saying 'no' to a paternity test.
Paternity Test - Children's Voice
The government rejected this recommendation regarding a paternity test, claiming that it would be inconsistent with the Family Law Act.
Margaret Otlowski, of the University of Tasmania, says that while one would normally expect the court to take the child's wishes regarding a paternity test into consideration, this may mean future rulings against children who don't want a paternity test.
"A 15-year-old child could be compelled to undergo a paternity test because a court thought it was in their best interest," said Otlowski.
Paternity Test - Ethics of Consent
Dr Astrid Gesche, co-author of a new book on the social, legal and ethical issues of genetic testing, sees consent as a fundamental requirement in all genetic testing and in the paternity test.
"The person involved in genetic testing is really a vulnerable person because genetic information is more than just clinical information. It says something about your future, it says something about your past. It might influence certain decisions in life that you're making," she says.
Paternity Test - Paternity Fraud
The paternity test issue has been very high profile in recent years with some fathers commissioning a paternity test without the mother's consent and suing them for "paternity fraud".
In 2003, around three thousand DNA paternity tests were ordered by Australian men alone and in almost a quarter of cases the paternity test found the children to be someone else's.
Men's rights organisations argue that a paternity test affords the presumed father peace of mind but also that mothers are reluctant to agree to a paternity test if there's a chance the paternity test could prove the child to be someone else's.
The same groups argue that it's unfair to expect men to pay maintenance for children that aren't theirs.
They oppose the recommendation that both parents be required to give consent for a paternity test for children deemed too immature to make their own decisions about a paternity test.
Paternity Test - Mutual Consent
Gesche supports the recommendation of mutual consent to a paternity test and, while she recognises the problems faced by fathers, also believes this approach could help to heal past deceptions.
The government is consulting other organisations on the issue and says it remains open to possible change in the law relating to parental consent and the paternity test.
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