Darren White was barely 20 when an acquaintance, a nearly 30-year-old career woman, reached out with unforgettable news. She was pregnant. And, allegedly, he was the father.
He didn’t believe her then. Nearly 40 years later, he still doesn’t.
“I think she was just saying that,” White said. “I don’t think she was even trying to keep me. I think she was just trying to play with my head, because she had already made this master plan.”
She planned to take the child and leave with another man who recently proposed to her. That man was more mature, well-established, with the money and power to give her and the baby things White couldn’t yet.
He recalls being confused, thinking, “But if it’s not really his child, it’s my child, why would you do that to him?” He never got an answer. The woman left shortly after. He never met the child.
Chances are: One of the two men was victimized by paternity fraud.
What is paternity fraud?
Paternity fraud is the intentional misidentification of a child’s biological father. Typically committed by the mother, paternity fraud is a distinctly deceitful form of paternal misattribution. Mistaken paternity could include accidents like mix-ups during fertility treatment, or the uncertainty resulting from sexual assault.
Paternity fraud is often a scheme by a child’s mother to collect child support payments. Other times, it’s a tactic to hide the mother’s sexual indiscretions.
In 2023, the American Association of Blood Banks (AABB) reported that one in five citizens born in the U.S. tested for a parental relationship may not be genetically related. The report stated some tests may have only been legally necessary to provide proof of a relationship or that there was no relationship. So “exclusion rates” may not directly reflect paternity rates among the general population.
Black Males targeted by paternity fraud
While mothers may be motivated by child support claims, millions of dollars in (federal) subsidies motivate states to persecute as many as possible. Black men historically bear the greatest burden.
Three-in-four men tested positive for paternity, according to a 2006 sample of US paternity tests. Those misidentified experience social stigma, wage garnishments, revocation of drivers’ licenses, debt, and jail by the child support system. Black fathers are nearly 80% of those incarcerated by the child support system, according to a 2016 report.
In 2002, then-California Governor Gray Davis vetoed the proposed Paternity Justice Act. In 2004, then-Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signed bill AB 252, providing resources to men who could prove misattributed paternity.
Dishonesty incentivized under current child support system
Hospital policies routinely employ measures from printed ID bands, to electronic tags, footprinting and biometric identification tools to verify maternity, yet lack policies guarantee paternity.
Despite the accuracy of genetic testing, as it turns out, some advocate for a right to hide the true identity of children’s fathers. Some claim that a woman may keep an alleged father’s biological relation undisclosed for personal reasons or safety concerns. This seems to prioritize women’s feelings of comfort over justice for fraud victims.
This notion endorses women making life-altering choices on behalf of men. Men are capable of making decisions for ourselves.
The argument sounds ridiculous when reversing the gender roles: “A man may not want to be identified as a father of his biological child for personal reasons or safety concerns.”
Dishonesty and compulsion of the innocent is currently incentivized. Paternity testing at birth would circumvent family disruption later down the line.
Paternity testing should be mandatory
White now facilitates Fathers With Soul a program for Black and Latino fathers. He supports mandatory paternity testing in California hospitals and other birthing facilities to protect men, children, and families from fraud. White believes fathers have an equal right to know if children are biologically theirs.
“If a test comes back to let him know he’s not the father, that would give closure on that particular issue,” White said. “It’ll raise other issues, but then that would just be an issue that they have to work out, because somebody wasn’t being honest.”
Many women would also benefit from mandatory paternity testing, he said. “It could be good for both of them.” Why would women be against knowing for sure who’s the father of their child?” White asks. “Unless they had something to hide.”
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