The History of The Paternity Test
As we all know, modern science has made astounding advancements in the area of the paternity test that have made the procedure a common way to test the biological relationship between a man and a child. As you might imagine, the path to this modern version that has resulted in the technology even being able accommodate a home paternity test has taken some time.
English Law
The early paternity test and the one that we are familiar with now have shared a common path that started with an adherence to sixteenth century English Common Law that stated unless a husband could prove impotency or that he was out of the country during conception; he was generally bound by law as the father.
Modern Advancements
It’s only been during modern times that science has taken over and established a better way of establishing a legal paternity test. All these later developments have followed advancements in the study of the human genotype and the latest techniques in molecular biology. Still, the science behind the modern paternity test was really still in its infancy for most of the 1970s.
DNA Testing
With the advent of DNA testing the science behind what we think of today as the modern paternity test was brought to life. As these techniques were more developed, a wide variety of both paternity tests and paternity test laws were brought to the forefront as the science developed. Today the modern test can even include prenatal paternity testing as well as a variety of other options including grandparentage and siblingship testing.
The results that people obtain from these paternity test procedures are often used to settle questions of parentage within families. Other forms of these tests are used by Embassies and Consulates (a/k/a immigration paternity testing) in determining which family members get into a country after one petitions for them and proves a biological relationship exists by submitting to the suggested DNA testing. However, while there are many variations of the paternity test and many applications for DNA testing in general that even include forensic DNA testing, the most popular avenue for these procedures is still the simple paternity test.
Two Divisions
Generally, there are two distinct divisions of the paternity test. The at home version is considered extremely accurate but the more formal version of the paternity test is the one that can be carried out in clinics under the supervision of trained collectors and the results obtained here are generally considered a legal paternity test with results that are admissible in a court of law.
