Hi Tabor
You have posted some very thoughtful comments from a neutral perspective. That is called fairness.
Since I will not likely be called for jury duty, I offer biased opinions that are based on what I have read, observed and experienced in my real life.
In the matter of paternity let's pretend Howard and Larry are overnight truck drivers who are both acquainted with a waitress at a diner.
Larry has boyish good looks and drives a huge Peterbilt. Howard has a smaller Kenworth.
Larry works 18 hour days and earns a respectable income -he is a good driver and loves his job -he owns his truck, rents an apartment and pays his bills.
Howard just hangs around the diner - his parents are leasing the truck and they pay all his bills. He has a license but doesn't like to drive at night. He has a tab at the diner.
Waitress (we'll call her Bonita) becomes pregnant with Larry's child. Bonita also likes crystal meth and is holding a winning Lotto ticket. Larry wants her to stop the crystal meth because of the baby - and invest the Lotto monies in rehab.
Howard wants Bonita to cash in the Lotto ticket, pay his tab, buy him some new clothes, flee to Mexico and avoid Larry.
In a drugged up stupor, Bonita runs to Mexico with the Lotto winnings, does not stop using meth - has a baby in a Mexican Motel - does not pay for the room. Howie tells Bonita to do the Motel owner and keeps the Lotto winnings in the baby's diaper bag. He clips it to his belt and tells Bonita the money is in the Bank of Mexico.
Larry is frantic - he drives to Mexico but is stopped at the border.
Who should get the baby?
The answer is Larry...
That was just brilliant!
LOL! The motel owner has the drug cartel kill Howie and Bonita and he uses the Lotto money to pay the cartel for protection. He holds the baby hostage. He'll give the baby up only if the US allows all Mexican illegal immigrants to become US citizens.
Freepers, Minutemen and all good patriots have had enough! War begins ;-)
More seriously, we each see things from our own life's perspectives. In your story Howie is a whimp and Larry is a man. In the real story, the same may still be true, but things are never quite so cut and dried as that. If Larry's the dad, he SHOULD get DL, barring any unforeseen revelations. In your story, Bonita made her choices, drugged up at times or not. Anna made her choices, of that I have no doubt.