My thanks to Mike Geanoulis to bringing this to my attention. This Tennessee bill would require any pregnant woman to submit to a paternity test before a father’s name was put on a birth certificate.

The author’s objections to this bill amount to

(1) the mother might not want the father to know he is the father, and ;

(2) the mother does not want the father involved because of rape or incest.

This is My Response:
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This is a reprint of an article I wrote about a year ago. All my old posts can be viewed at NH Family Law Reform.

Returning to the previous discussion of the basic problems with current child support laws, let’s take a look at wage garnishment, or “assignment”. This is a much broader issue than just attaching a weekly paycheck. This also includes seizure of bank account, retirement and other liquid assets. It means mandatory confiscation of tax refunds. It means states refusing to give you a drivers license if you owe support. It even means suspending your right to travel abroad if you are behind in child support.

Obviously, many people think this is fair and just; after all if one is not supporting their children, should not the State be allowed to take harsh measures? My argument against this is that “where does it stop?” Currently, these harsh penalties are not applied when one is behind in in alimony payments; they are not imposed for any type of civil debt (mortgage, etc.); they are not even imposed to this extent when taxes are owed.
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