Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Consumer DNA tests revealing misattributed parentage

theatlantic.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

81–90 of 153 posts

Re: Consumer DNA tests revealing misattributed parentage

#81

Post by gdfasfklshg »

crumbshot wrote: post #42
rjdagost wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The French government claims that fatherhood is determined by society, and not biology. That is a very unscientific law.

> The French government claims that fatherhood is determined by society It is. A child does not need to be genetically related to their parents. Adoption is a common practice.

Adoption is one thing. Paternity fraud is another. Many men do not want to raise children that are not biologically theirs. The current system in France (and in many US states) forces men to raise or pay child support for children that are not biologically theirs. In some cases this even prevents men from being able to have or raise properly children of their own.

Re: Consumer DNA tests revealing misattributed parentage

#82

Post by bcoates »

hugh4life wrote: post #26
juskrey wrote: post #11

Some estimations tell that around 30% of children are not from their official fathers.. People are just unaware of amount of secretes seemingly happy marriages hold

Um no... it's no more than 1-2% in western societies.

And not all historical non-paternity is due to marital infidelity -- it was very common for unwed young parents to have their children raised by their parents as a younger sibling.

A couple raising their daughter's son as their own is Y-chromosome non-paternity despite being a direct descendant.

Re: Consumer DNA tests revealing misattributed parentage

#83

Post by qubex »

kukx wrote: post #76
qubex wrote: post #71

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Has it occurred to you that maybe one of the root causes of so-called ”rape culture” is that would-be rapists do indeed feel thusly empowered?

But is there a "rape culture"? I mean there are criminals that commit rape. But what are the reasons to call it a culture. As far as I know, the rape, at least in the western world, is perceived as a terrible thing and is punished by law.

I’m not American. I just hear the term bandied about a lot (including by my equally-foreign, US-college educated fiancée, who has regaled me with several horror stories relating to young women on her campus).

Re: Consumer DNA tests revealing misattributed parentage

#84

Post by 1000units »

mirimir wrote: post #50
tanbog wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Maybe part of the issue is an over-emphasis on "fidelity". People have always played around - or to be frank, many women have been assaulted and had to keep it quiet - maybe the best outcome would be more open communication and understanding between couples rather than even more prescriptive social norms about how relationships should work.

It's not so much about fidelity as honesty.

In any case, getting raped isn't a breach of fidelity.

Re: Consumer DNA tests revealing misattributed parentage

#85

Post by 1337biz »

starpilot wrote: post #9
dm8 wrote: post #3

There was an interesting thread on reddit where people were sharing their experiences with DNA tests and their parentage/ancestry. I was surprised with sheer number of them being listed/shared there. I never considered DNA tests will have such a weird side effects. It's a fascinating to see how much science or scientific tests in future can lead to weird results (not that I'm condoning cheating or anything) - Thread…

Also in /r/23andme, lots of people finding out they have no Cherokee/Native American heritage after all.

Do these people happen to be coming from Massachusetts?

Re: Consumer DNA tests revealing misattributed parentage

#86

Post by logronoide »

ionised wrote: post #79
logronoide wrote: post #62

I dated a girl in the nineties that worked at a maternity ward in a very popular hospital. She said that just comparing blood types five to ten percent of the babies did not belong to the mother’s couple. And of course doctors and nurses never said a word.

You mean they mixed up the babies and gave them to the wrong parents?

It’s almost impossible to mix up babies in a maternity ward nowadays with all tracking stuff they have. No, I mean the mother cheating her couple.

Re: Consumer DNA tests revealing misattributed parentage

#87

Post by DanBC »

logronoide wrote: post #86
ionised wrote: post #79

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You mean they mixed up the babies and gave them to the wrong parents?

It’s almost impossible to mix up babies in a maternity ward nowadays with all tracking stuff they have. No, I mean the mother cheating her couple.

Your use of the word "couple" is confusing to people who speak English as a second language.

Re: Consumer DNA tests revealing misattributed parentage

#88

Post by 1000units »

qubex wrote: post #71
kukx wrote: post #69

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I doubt that "for some people the best way to handle their trauma is to never speak of it and pretend it never happened" is actually true. I would like to see some study that proves that. Otherwise you just empower the rapists for no justifiable reason. And even if there is some personal net benefit for not telling anyone. Is it more important than saving others from potentially the same harm?

Has it occurred to you that maybe one of the root causes of so-called ”rape culture” is that would-be rapists do indeed feel thusly empowered?

No, certainly not. The threat of serious legal reprisal deters criminals of all sorts, including rapists.

Re: Consumer DNA tests revealing misattributed parentage

#89

Post by 1000units »

qubex wrote: post #72
logronoide wrote: post #62

I dated a girl in the nineties that worked at a maternity ward in a very popular hospital. She said that just comparing blood types five to ten percent of the babies did not belong to the mother’s couple. And of course doctors and nurses never said a word.

Another reason to not want kids.

Or rather another reason to marry a woman of strong character.

Re: Consumer DNA tests revealing misattributed parentage

#90

Post by lawlessone »

DanBC wrote: post #87
logronoide wrote: post #86

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It’s almost impossible to mix up babies in a maternity ward nowadays with all tracking stuff they have. No, I mean the mother cheating her couple.

Your use of the word "couple" is confusing to people who speak English as a second language.

It's confusing for me and i speak English as first language.
Post reply on HN