DNA paternity testing

The current techniques for paternity testing are using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP).

The collector rubs the inside of a person's cheek to collect as many buccal cells as possible, which are then sent to a laboratory for testing.

It is possible to determine who the biological father of the fetus is while the woman is still pregnant through procedures called chorionic villus sampling or amniocentesis.

These procedures are highly accurate because they are taking a sample directly from the fetus; however, there is a small risk for the woman to miscarry and lose the pregnancy as a result.

This allows for accurate fetal DNA paternity testing during pregnancy from a blood draw with no risk of miscarriage.

It is currently the gold standard in paternity testing as it allows a comparison of the child’s DNA to that of the mother and alleged father.

DNA test results are legally admissible if the collection and the processing follows a chain of custody.

Similarly in Canada, the SCC has regulations on DNA paternity and relationship testing, but this accreditation, while recommended, is not required.

The Paternity Testing Commission of the International Society for Forensic Genetics has taken up the task of establishing the biostatistical recommendations in accordance with the ISO/IEC 17025 standards.

[13] The DNA parentage test that follows strict chain of custody can generate legally admissible results that are used for child support, inheritance, social welfare benefits, immigration, or adoption purposes.

The U.S. immigration authorities require that the DNA test, if pursued, be performed by one of the laboratories accredited by the AABB (formerly American Association of Blood Banks).

For example, in Canada, the federal Human Assisted Reproduction Act provides for the use of hired surrogate mothers.

[19] Non consensual private DNA paternity testing is illegal, including through laboratories in other countries, and is punishable by up to a year in prison and a €15,000 fine.

Full informed consent of both parents is required, and prenatal paternity testing is prohibited, with the exception of sexual abuse and rape cases.

[22] Due to an amendment of the civil law section 1598a in 2005, any man who contests paternity no longer automatically severs legal rights and obligations to the child.

A man seeking to prove that he is not the father of the child registered as his is entitled to a paternity test, even if the mother and natural guardian object.

[30][31] In the United Kingdom, there were no restrictions on paternity tests until the Human Tissue Act 2004 came into force in September 2006.

Section 45 states that it is an offence to possess without appropriate consent any human bodily material with the intent of analysing its DNA.

Legally declared fathers have access to paternity-testing services under the new regulations, provided the putative parental DNA being tested is their own.

In the 2018 case of Anderson V Spencer the Court of Appeal permitted for the very first time DNA samples taken from a Deceased person to be used for paternity testing.

Paternity testing take-home kits are readily available for purchase, though their results are not admissible in court and are for personal knowledge only.

[32] The legal implications of a parentage result test vary by state and according to whether the putative parents are unmarried or married.

However, in many states, this testing must be performed during a narrow window of time, if a voluntary acknowledgement of parentage form has already been signed by the putative father; otherwise, the results of the test may be disregarded by law, and in many cases, a man may be required to pay child support, though the child is biologically unrelated.

As of 2011, in most states, unwed parents confronted with a voluntary acknowledgement of parentage form are informed of the possibility and right to request a DNA paternity test.

If testing is refused by the mother, the father may not be required to sign the birth certificate or the voluntary acknowledgement of parentage form for the child.