Posted on 08/11/2005 12:40:55 PM PDT by summer
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Perhaps one out of every 25 dads could unknowingly be raising another man's child, a finding that has huge health and social implications, according to report released Wednesday.
Exposing so-called paternal discrepancy -- when a child is identified as being biologically fathered by someone other than the man who believes he is the father -- could lead to family violence and the breakup of many families. On the other hand, leaving paternal discrepancy hidden means having the wrong genetic information, which could have health consequences.
A UK-based research team reviewed scientific research dealing with paternity published between 1950 and 2004 and reports that rates of paternal discrepancy range from less than 1 percent to as much as 30 percent.
The investigation also showed that becoming pregnant at a younger age, low socioeconomic status, and being in a long-term relationship rather than being married seem to be linked to greater likelihood of paternal discrepancy.
It is generally believed that rates of paternal discrepancy are less than 10 percent. A paternal discrepancy rate of 4 percent means that one in 25 families could be affected.
However, soaring rates of paternity testing in North America and Europe means more cases of paternal discrepancy will be identified in the years ahead, Professor Mark A. Bellis, from the Center for Public Health at the Liverpool John Moores University, and colleagues point out in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health.
In the United States, for example, rates of paternity testing more than doubled between 1991 and 2001. The increasing use of genetic testing for diagnosis and treatment of disease as well as in judicial procedures will also yield more opportunities to uncover cases where a father, unbeknownst to him, is not the biological parent.
"Modern genetic techniques continue to open a Pandora's box on hitherto hidden aspects of human sexual behavior," the investigators write.
Exposing such situations will inevitably affect not only deceived dads but also their family and potentially the biological father. Leaving paternal discrepancy undiagnosed, on the other hand, leaves those affected with incorrect genetic information that could prove harmful.
What's urgently needed, the authors say, is guidance on how and when paternal discrepancy should be exposed.
At present, most cases that are inadvertently identified are ignored by whoever uncovers the situation.
"However, in a society where services and life decisions are increasingly influenced by genetics, our approach to paternal discrepancy cannot be simply to ignore this difficult issue but must be informed by what best protects the health of those affected," Bellis and colleagues argue.
Hey we're not all skanks and ho's. Some of us do have morals. Don't date democrat women. ;)
LOL! No hubbies have any little extra kiddies in other homes which would surprise wifie if she knew.
;-)
Well I never had any doubts about who my parents are, and I am proud to say that not only have my parents been faithful to each other for 58 years, but they both chose to wait until they were married for any intimacy, and that was the first time either one of them was intimate.
How do I know?
My Dad told me. And he said that he and my mother never regretted anything. And he based his decision on what his Dad told him (and me, when I was old enough to understand), which was that time honored advice:
"Keep your future in your pants!"
That advice will generally make it unnecessary to worry about DNA testing to determine paternity in any case.
Which explains why some men only date married women. Your suggestion relieves all gigolos of responsibility.
(Chorus:)
Son don't go near the Indians please stay away
Son don't go near the Indians please do what I say
Since I was just a little boy I've liked to roam the hills
And to hear wild stories about the Indians was my biggest thrill
I'd shout and yell and holler like them I wore moccasins on my feet
And I'd make believe I was under a teepee every time I went to sleep
My hair was jet black and I was twenty one
Lots of pretty girls around
But the paleface maidens didn't thrill me none
Around my Cochise County home town
(Chorus)
One day I went to the reservation and there by a shallow creek
Was a beautiful Indian a'fetchin' water and I just had to speak
She smiled at me then quickly left but the next day she re-turned
And it wasn't very long 'til I told her how the love in my heart burned
(Repeat Chorus In Key Of D)
I told my daddy I'd found a girl who meant the world to me
And tomorrow I'd ask the Indian chief for the hand of Nova Lee
Dad's trembling lips spoke softly as he told me of my life
It was then he said I could never take this maiden for my wife
(Recitation - Play Chord Progression As Per Verse In Background:)
Son the white man and Indian were fighting when you were born
And a brave called Yellow Sun scalped my little boy
So I stole you to get even for what he'd done
Though you're a full blooded Indian son
I love you as much as my own little feller that's dead
And son Nova Lee is your sister and that's why I've always said...
Repeat Chorus (Fading)
(recorded by Rex Allen)
Crap! how old are you? you might be my long lost ,uh,uh....oh never mind!LOL!
...You got any money...Just checkin'.
Nowadays, for that boy to marry Nova Lee would just be considered a unique lifestyle choice in some quarters...
No; actually what is urgently needed is a return to responsibility, family, God and commitment to one mate, not a multitude of recreational relationships!
The underlying problem with nearly every "family" I work with is no firm foundation. Many of the parents come from broken and dysfunctional homes, the moms have 3 or 4 kids with as many different fathers...sometimes known and sometimes not, fathers who either don't know or don't care that these children exist. Virtually all of these children are diagnosed with some personality, developmental or behavioral pathology. You think things are bad now....just wait until this generation (rapidly becoming the majority) comes of age. They are like trees without roots who will never bear fruit. Unfortunately, that doesn't mean that they will never reproduce.
It's not cost effective. "Paternal discrepancies" only happen 4% of the time.
There is no "love" involved in the production of most of these children, and I think it is highly unlikely that their rising prevalence will do anything to enforce moral codes. The trend I am seeing in court case after court case is just more state control over private lives, and the moral issue is never even addressed. There is a cookie cutter fix to mandate compliance with certain "respoonsibilites," but morality doesn't have a thing to do with it. Just once I'd like to see a judge say "keep your legs together, sweetheart" or "keep it in your pants, buddy."
My uncle worked in a prison. He told me that most of the inmates came from fatherless families. In some of the cases, the parents had divorced but in most cases the parents had never married. He said this years ago, way before sociologists concluded that kids do best in two parent families.
The rest of us have to get off our high horse and start being judgemental about illegitimacy. It's bad for the entire society.
That "1 in 25" is a number they picked out of thin air. It could be as high as 1 in 10. The studies I've seen have the probability going up with later children.
It also says a lot about the female infidelity rate. Assuming the husband gets as much access as the boy friend, the infidelity rate would be twice the invalid paternity rate
I saw a special about cowbirds on some nature channel. Made me hate them!
Take it up with the lexicographers. "Love-child" is a synonym for "bastard".
I think it is highly unlikely that their rising prevalence will do anything to enforce moral codes.
Read my post again. I said that the rising detectability of bastards will enforce morality among the married.
The simple fact is that people are less likely to break a rule--any rule--if they are more likely to get caught. Let me know if you disagree with that.
My hat is off to you. I appreciate your honesty. I decided to read all the post before I replied. I am glad I did.
Bastard - The illegitimate offspring of unmarried parents. That is not very PC is it. What else could you call them. Any wife that would have another mans child is nothing but trash. They do not have honor, dignity, morality, or decency. She should have the decency and honor to tell her husband and let him decide what to do.
We already know what the biological father and mother of this love child are. Maybe they should be chained together for a while.
"Love-child." ;^)
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