We should embrace DNA tests
In the olden days, when a woman named you as the father of her child, you dared not refuse it.
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The child becomes yours automatically and nothing you will say will be heeded to. Your family will quickly agree and start taking care of the woman and if you are married, you dare not refuse a baby.
To date, many people of old do not understand what DNA is and I have come across cases where DNA has confirmed that a 25-year-old is not the daughter of a man; yet, her mother claims DNA is a lie, and some family members believe it and accuse DNA test of being manipulated.
Thank God for technology. We pray the DNA test becomes as cheap as the test for malaria someday because the things many women have buried are never to be spoken about until a possible conversation in their graves will amaze you.
We pray that one day, DNA will become easier to do at home or cheaper like a pregnancy test strip in the pharmacy or even mandatory at birth with the help of insurance.
I will urge that we start a public education, especially with the older generation, about some of these breakthroughs in technology and be ready for opposition because there are still some Ghanaian elderly folks who do not understand this.
I met a man who says so long as he has slept with the woman, he will not reject any baby. It is a blessing to raise one even if it is not his. That is another perspective.
However, there are cases where the fathers of such children come back for them and this has created intense family disputes. Confirming through a DNA test whether a child is yours or not is something we should all embrace.
Yuri, Tema
