Every child has a fundamental interest in knowing the truth about their biological parentage. A child’s right to know who their biological parents are should not depend entirely on the circumstances of the parents’ relationship or on whether one parent chooses to raise the question.
Making DNA testing a standard part of child-custody proceedings is therefore not about exposing a woman’s adultery, humiliating a mother, or investigating her private relationships. It is about protecting the child’s right to know their biological identity and ensuring that the law does not impose parental responsibilities on an innocent person without establishing biological parentage.
A man should not be legally compelled to provide lifelong financial support for a child who is not biologically his merely because he was presumed to be the father. Parenthood carries enormous legal, financial and emotional responsibilities. Before imposing those responsibilities, the law should have a reliable mechanism for establishing biological parentage when it is relevant to the case.
DNA testing is also not about identifying or punishing a woman’s lover for enjoying time with a married women. If another man is the biological father, establishing that fact should not be treated primarily as a moral judgment against anyone. Instead, the biological father should be given the opportunity—and, where appropriate, the legal responsibility—to take responsibility for the child he helped create.
This approach shifts the focus away from adult morality and toward child welfare. The question should not be, “Who cheated on whom?” The question should be, “Who are the child’s biological parents, and what responsibilities do they have toward this child?”
Knowing one’s biological origins can also be important for a child’s medical history, genetic information, identity and sense of belonging. Concealing biological parentage can leave a child with unanswered questions that may become increasingly important later in life.
At the same time, compulsory DNA testing should be implemented with safeguards. The child’s welfare, privacy, dignity and emotional well-being must remain paramount. DNA results should not automatically determine custody; biological parentage and parental fitness are separate questions. A biological parent may have a responsibility toward the child, but custody and parenting arrangements must still be determined according to the best interests of the child.
Therefore, DNA testing in appropriate child-custody and parentage proceedings should not be viewed as an attack on women, marriage or family life. It should be viewed as a child-centred mechanism for establishing the truth of biological parentage and allocating parental responsibility fairly.
The principle is simple:
A child has the right to know who their biological parents are. A person should not be forced to assume lifelong parental obligations without establishing parentage. And a biological parent should not be able to escape responsibility merely because another person was presumed to be the father.
Ultimately, DNA testing should not be about exposing someone’s past. It should be about protecting the child’s future.
DNA test on every child made compulsory/by Law, before adding Fathers name to Childs Birth Certificate.