Paternity Test – You Need Consent
The Human Tissue Act means it is a criminal offence to carry out a paternity test without consent.
There have been a few high profile cases where bodily samples have been illicitly snatched in order to do a stealthy paternity test. Stories of private detectives stealing tooth floss from dustbins and even of people plucking hair from dead bodies means we can’t always have control over our DNA - which is good news for the police investigating a crime scene, but bad news for our civil liberties.
Paternity Test without Consent
But the days of taking a paternity test without consent have ended. In the UK, the 2006 Human Tissue Act means you cannot take or test a person’s DNA for a paternity test without proper consent. The Human Tissue Act means it is illegal to:
- Take, store or use human tissue without consent
- Steal DNA without consent
- Traffic organs
Thousands of Paternity Tests every Year
It’s estimated that thousands of paternity tests are taken every year in the UK. DNA for a paternity test is easily obtained from blood, skin or more commonly, cheek cells. But a paternity test needs to be carried out with consent and within a clear ethical framework. However, before the Human Tissue Act, it wasn’t illegal to steal DNA and in recent years there have been a number of cases where DNA has been stolen for a secret paternity test.
Covert Paternity Test - Damaging
Before the Act was introduced it was thought that up to one in ten paternity tests were carried out on children without the consent of one of the parents. A covert paternity test can have massive emotional fallout, especially for the child. A DNA paternity test that is covert can sometimes have a malicious or deceitful intent.
Covert Paternity Test
DNA results and the paternity test have never been so readily available and affordable, which means more people might be tempted to obtain a covert paternity test. A simple mouth swab or even a single strand of hair can contain DNA. Squabbles over inheritance, child maintenance and adopted children trying to identify their parents have all boosted the popularity of the paternity test.
International Biosciences offer a broad range of paternity test services designed to provide indisputable answers to emotional questions. Whether you seek to establish paternity, prove siblingship or research genealogy, for legal definition or peace of mind, we are able to provide the appropriate paternity test at competitive rates, professionally and confidentially. Using state of the art technology we are able to provide conclusive evidence on time, every time. Contact International Biosciences on 01342 850945 or click here to email us.
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