Brunswick Beacon, 05.12.22
Five radical right-wing Supreme Court justices, acting as political activists are about to overturn Roe v. Wade and end the reproductive freedom American women have enjoyed for nearly fifty years.
If women’s privacy rights can be abolished to force them to carry all pregnancies to term, men’s privacy rights can be abolished to hold them responsible for all pregnancies they create.
The law already requires men to support children until adulthood. That includes food, shelter, clothing, healthcare, education: everything required to raise a child.
These laws apply whether the pregnancy occurs inside or outside of marriage, whether it was the result of consensual sex or rape. Modern law makes no distinction once paternity is proven.
Forcing women to give birth will force many to abandon their education and be unable to work, drastically reducing their earnings, often for the rest of their lives. Modern law recognizes not just alimony for spouses, but “palimony” for unwed mothers once paternity is proven.
To ensure men meet their responsibilities without being unfairly saddled with alimony and child support, we must enact a “Descendant Authenticity Determination Act” (“DAD Act”) using DNA to establish paternity.
The Newborn Genetic Screening test is required in all 50 states. Newborns have blood drawn and DNA analyzed for congenital disorders, saving the lives of 5-6,000 babies/year. North Carolina retains DNA for 5 years. Louisiana, Tennessee and six other states retain DNA indefinitely. The “DAD Act” would make permanent retention mandatory nationwide.
Men would be unable to object to mandatory DNA collection, retention and testing on privacy grounds because the Supreme Court’s decision abolishing a woman’s right to choose rests on the notion that the Constitution contains no right to privacy.
Abolishing the right to privacy will not simply deprive women of the right to choose. It will open the door to massive government intrusion into every aspect of your life.
Happy Father’s Day, dad!
Linda McConnell Baker
Leland
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