Paternity Fraud - Something That Must Be Addressed

While I haven’t been keeping all that much attention to the issue of paternity fraud, I did find it interesting that one state has decided to try to nip this problem in the bud, having passed legislation that makes paternity fraud a crime.

Tennessee passed two laws addressing paternity fraud, the first making it a Class B misdemeanor and the second removing the five year statute of limitation to “challenge an acknowledgment of paternity on the basis of fraud, duress or mistake.” While neither is quite as powerful as some would have liked, it is a step in the right direction. One proposed bill that failed would have made paternity tests mandatory at birth, but it died before making it through committee.

Some think mandatory paternity testing at birth would eliminate paternity fraud. Others think it is an invasion of privacy. I’ll admit I am not sure one way or the other but I do understand why some people are in favor of it, particularly men who found out well after the fact that children they thought were theirs were fathered by someone else.

There have been some claims that 30% of all children born in the US are not the biological children of the reported father, but that number seems way too high. However I can believe that 30% of all children tested for paternity aren‘t related to the man thought to be the father. It makes sense because if a child us being tested it’s likely because there is some question as to the child’s paternity. If every child was tested at birth I think the percentage would be a lot lower.

You may ask what got me on to this topic? Simply, it was this video, something I came across while browsing YouTube earlier today:


After watching this video I must admit that I was pissed off. That this woman seemed to show little shame for having deceived her now ex-husband about the paternity of their two children just made it worse to me.

I think it’s time for states to pass legislation to make paternity fraud a crime. I also think paternity fraud should be considered a factor when it comes to things like child support after a divorce. Why should a man pay child support for kids that aren’t his? Let the mother go after the real father for that.

Is it harsh? Yes. But why should the man who was deceived be punished a second time for this fraud committed against him?