Consumer DNA tests revealing misattributed parentage • Hacker News Board

Re: Consumer DNA tests revealing misattributed parentage

#131

Post by dotancohen » Mon, Jul 30, 2018, 2:46 PM UTC

sandworm101 wrote: post #115

dotancohen wrote: post #106

Best line of the fine article, in relation to the discovery by DNA testing of secret infidelity and rape: > It’s getting harder and harder to keep secrets in our society That motif seems to be permeating deeper and deeper into every aspect of modern life.

I went to law school with a former ER doctor. When a teenager (<16) would show up in labor, he said there was a 30% chance her child's father was her father too. The doctors duty was to the patient(s) and breaking up the family by reporting was not in her best interests. The prevalence of DNA tests is going to make such coverups impossible.

How could he know that? Was he DNA testing every infant? Did the teen mother disclose this information? Did the [grand-]father?

Re: Consumer DNA tests revealing misattributed parentage

#132

Post by sandworm101 » Mon, Jul 30, 2018, 2:55 PM UTC

matheusmoreira wrote: post #129

sandworm101 wrote: post #125

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Careful, that's a breath away from decriminalizing pedophilia. The daughter is still a child, the father a sex offender who in any other circumstance would be crucified. The internet doesn't react well to such ideas. Im all for allowing doctors some discretion in testing, but non-prosecution cannot be public policy.

You said there was a ~30% chance a teenager in labor had been abused by her father. It can be inferred that in ~70% of cases the teenager had not been abused by her father. Should people prosecute the father of every pregnant teenager despite the 70% chance of him being innocent?

No, this is about testing that might detect those 30%. A doctor, not wanting to discover something that he might have to report, will avoid certain tests or questions. Blanket testing for things like genetics would remove that wiggle room, discovering all the family secrets.

Re: Consumer DNA tests revealing misattributed parentage

#133

Post by Fjolsvith » Mon, Jul 30, 2018, 3:38 PM UTC

dotancohen wrote: post #131

sandworm101 wrote: post #115

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I went to law school with a former ER doctor. When a teenager (<16) would show up in labor, he said there was a 30% chance her child's father was her father too. The doctors duty was to the patient(s) and breaking up the family by reporting was not in her best interests. The prevalence of DNA tests is going to make such coverups impossible.

How could he know that? Was he DNA testing every infant? Did the teen mother disclose this information? Did the [grand-]father?

Just do a search on google about it. Tons of studies and collected statistics point to that percentage.

Re: Consumer DNA tests revealing misattributed parentage

#134

Post by Fjolsvith » Mon, Jul 30, 2018, 3:39 PM UTC

sandworm101 wrote: post #132

matheusmoreira wrote: post #129

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You said there was a ~30% chance a teenager in labor had been abused by her father. It can be inferred that in ~70% of cases the teenager had not been abused by her father. Should people prosecute the father of every pregnant teenager despite the 70% chance of him being innocent?

No, this is about testing that might detect those 30%. A doctor, not wanting to discover something that he might have to report, will avoid certain tests or questions. Blanket testing for things like genetics would remove that wiggle room, discovering all the family secrets.

Illegal family secrets.

Re: Consumer DNA tests revealing misattributed parentage

#135

Post by citizenkeen » Mon, Jul 30, 2018, 3:59 PM UTC

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.

My highschool used to do blood typing as a science experiment in bio. Part of the homework was to find out what blood type your parents were. One girl went home (before I was there, the teacher shared the story during the genetics unit), asked her parents their blood types, and "Dad, that's not possible. You can't be that blood type."

One lawsuit from mom later, and the school doesn't do that lab any more.

Re: Consumer DNA tests revealing misattributed parentage

#136

Post by toomanybeersies » Mon, Jul 30, 2018, 4:10 PM UTC

paidleaf wrote: post #128

marchenko wrote: post #127

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>> "why was she wearing that dress?", "why was she in the club on her own if she was in a relationship?", "why did she walk through the park at night on her own?" >What? This is simply a lie. You know it. This statement is highly uncharitable to your interlocutor above and frankly ignorant of the history of sexual assault prosecutions in the US. There has been a longstanding and documented strategy of defense attorne…

> This statement is highly uncharitable to your interlocutor above and frankly ignorant of the history of sexual assault prosecutions in the US. Once again, we are talking about western society today, not in history. I already acknowledged in my comment that things were different in the past. > "she was engaged in dangerous behaviour - that couldn't happen to someone like me". Once again, a foreigner pushing "rape cu…

What makes you think marchenko is not a US citizen?

Regardless, my original comment said "Western Culture", not "American Culture". Here in Australia I have definitely seen comments and heard people victim blame rape victims for their behavior. Don't try and say that it's only an Australian thing, for sure it happens in the USA too.

Why would you accuse me of lying?

Re: Consumer DNA tests revealing misattributed parentage

#137

Post by sandworm101 » Mon, Jul 30, 2018, 4:20 PM UTC

Fjolsvith wrote: post #133

dotancohen wrote: post #131

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How could he know that? Was he DNA testing every infant? Did the teen mother disclose this information? Did the [grand-]father?

Just do a search on google about it. Tons of studies and collected statistics point to that percentage.

If you include other older men who she calls 'dad' but are not her biological father (ie her mother's current husband) or uncles the percentage jumps to over 50%.

My friend said the biggest red flag was when the father brings the pregnant girl to hospital, or even just to the obgyn, without her mother. Such situations are so unusual that they draw the attention of any cops that hear about it.

Re: Consumer DNA tests revealing misattributed parentage

#138

Post by syshum » Mon, Jul 30, 2018, 4:22 PM UTC

Bromskloss wrote: post #110

syshum wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

One can not have freedom with out privacy. As we destroy the concept of privacy we also destroy the concept of freedom. It will be interesting how civilization handles it. We are starting to see some signs of push back, but unfortunely people are turning to governments and authoritarianism as a "solution". IMO we are at at fork in civilization, and it seems we are choosing the less free, less private path

> One can not have freedom with out privacy. Why is that? I want both, but I think they are different things.

How can you be free if you are under continual surveillance your ever action judged in real time on mass, your ever past action judged based on the current feelings of the day, your every comment, word spoken, person you interacted with, etc judged and recriminated on a on going basis.

Every movement monitored, every interaction recorded.

Are you free in such a society? I say no....

Re: Consumer DNA tests revealing misattributed parentage

#139

Post by Bromskloss » Mon, Jul 30, 2018, 4:43 PM UTC

syshum wrote: post #138

Bromskloss wrote: post #110

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> One can not have freedom with out privacy. Why is that? I want both, but I think they are different things.

How can you be free if you are under continual surveillance your ever action judged in real time on mass, your ever past action judged based on the current feelings of the day, your every comment, word spoken, person you interacted with, etc judged and recriminated on a on going basis. Every movement monitored, every interaction recorded. Are you free in such a society? I say no....

I take "free" to mean that no one else decides what I should do.

Re: Consumer DNA tests revealing misattributed parentage

#140

Post by mirimir » Mon, Jul 30, 2018, 5:25 PM UTC

1000units wrote: post #84

mirimir wrote: post #50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's not so much about fidelity as honesty.

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

Never said that.

Edit: But I gotta say that I'd expect my wife to share if she'd been raped. And especially if she had gotten pregnant, and had chosen to have the child. Without that level of honesty in a marriage, there arguably isn't actually a marriage. That may seem harsh, I know. But hey, I got it from Landmark. For what it's worth, while responsibility and honesty are considered key values, there is no blame.