This is my monthly blog article, I hope you enjoy it.

Paternity Woes
By
Zachary Horton

This month I have decided to write about the issue of paternity. For many men this has been a HUGE problem. Now the first thing that pops up when I say that to some people is that a father is dodging their duties. However, this is not what I am writing about. Many men are forced to take care of children that are not theirs. If I ever act in place of a child’s father, then I may be tapped to support that child even if it is not mine. The court sees it as you are perceived by the child as their father, so then you are the father as to not upset the child by removing the father figure or telling the child that you are not their father. If the mother wants she may enter a CS (child support) order against you. Now the child you have no biological connection to has now become a debt to you.

Next this problem will come along if the mother lies to you about being the father of a child. She may say you are the father and if you accept or even not refute that role you can be legally claimed to be the father. This then leads to CS payments and the state coming after you to recover costs of any money given to the mother. Once this is enacted only a few states allow you to contest CS and paternity. However many of outs have a timeframe after which it is nearly impossible to remove.

The worst part of this whole situation is that the pseudo fathers are pushed out of the child’s life. Many only get about 4 hours a week to see the kids. Some get less or are even denied visitation altogether. Others are forced to visit in horrible visitation centers where they are supervised. Not only are these dehumanizing meeting places, but many men have to pay the center and guards for their time. The states seem only concerned with naming a man as the father. After the state has a father then they seek out money from him. They do not seem to care if the father plays any role in the child’s life, just if he is available as a wallet. The reasoning from the courts for naming a non-biological man (who acted like a father to a kid) as the father, is that it would cause the child problems if the father just leaves. Once they obtained the CS order this seems to be exactly what the try to do. Why is it not just as bad for the father to be kicked out of the child’s life? If the father goes from being an everyday event to a once a week or worse event, is that not also going to be disturbing for that child? The men are of course hurt since they are supporting a child but never get to see the child. They are fathers in name only, the only use they have to the family is as a wallet, they are refused any other role.

Much money and time is spent in court trying to decide these issues. Men feel hurt when they find out they have been lied to or are being forced into something they have to desire to be party to. The state gets federal funding dollars for each dollar that passes through the CS system. There is an easy way for this to be corrected. There needs to be mandatory paternity tests when a child is born so the father may see that it is really his child. Also this should be followed before any CS order is ever implemented. There are men who missed a court appointment or letter and were entered in as fathers by default. Not proof necessary but the woman’s word. To keep the false accounts to a minimum then a paternity test should be administered before any CS order is ever made. This would take some time to be sure, but it would save a lot of time and heartache down the road. This will also only work if ONLY biological fathers were seen as responsible for their own children. You should not be able to wrangle another man in to support a child with his direct consent. There is even an odd case or two of a woman getting CS from TWO men.

Some men have even brought up the idea of a paper abortion. This is sort of a form of abortion that has to do with legal responsibilities. A man would have the right to fill out this form for a certain period of time after they learn they are a father. The form would then eliminate all legal responsibilities for the father. They will not be responsible for taking care of the children, they will also not have the right to visitation.

When a ma is shown to be the biological father of a child then he must have rights equal to those of the female. She should not be able to drop a kid at a safe haven or give the child up for adoption without his say so. Right now a mother can abort a fetus if she wishes. A man cannot force her to abort nor can he stop her if she wishes to abort. If the woman wants to give the child up for adoption, she doesn’t need the man’s permission to do so. A simple lie of not knowing the father will easily slide her past any obstacle. If she wishes to drop off the baby at a safe haven, she will then terminate all parental responsibilities with no questions asked. A man doesn’t have this option.

If the paper abortion was brought into reality, then you would see a drop in single parent households. Women who knew that the father wouldn’t be forced to support them if they have a child would be forced to actually discuss pregnancy with the father. If mandatory paternity tests were done then men would no longer be fooled into taking care or children that are not theirs. It would eliminate a lot of court costs and headaches for men. They would always know when a child is theirs. Of course it would cause some trouble for cheating wives though.

Thank you for your time,
Zachary Horton