F&F: Putative or “Punitive” Father Registry?

Submitted by Matt on Sat, 2012-07-07 18:17

Article here. Excerpt:

'A Putative Father Registry mandates that unwed fathers mail in a postcard to register their possible claim for paternity rights in a timely manner. Thus, the registry places the responsibility on the father. Mothers, however, do not need to identify the father or potential fathers.

Adoption agencies and attorneys favor registries because adoption proceedings can then commence without the possibility of disruption due to late paternity claims. Proponents claim:

  • The privacy and safety of the mother is secured because she does not have to identify the possible father nor inform the father of her pregnancy.
  • The privacy of the father is protected in that notice is mailed only to the secure address he has provided the registry.
  • Both mother’s and father’s privacy are protected in that no names are published in the newspaper.

Thirty-four states use registries to give putative fathers an opportunity to file notice of their claims to paternity. In many states, a man who has not filed with the putative father registry will not receive notice of any termination of parental rights and/or any adoption court proceedings regarding the child.'

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Comments

This is feminist, misandrist insanity at its maximum. How the heck does a sexually active man know when a pregnancy occurs? Whereas, it's obvious to a woman.

Is a man expected to sign some registry (notify the state) every time he has sex, whereas a woman has no obligations or responsibilities and can dump a child in any number of ways, or keep it (get physical custody) and make a man pay for it - IF SHE CHOOSES.

To place this type of asinine and unfair responsibility on every man who has sex and has no idea if he has fathered a child in order to maintain his rights as the father of a child shows the extent to which the government has become a grossly active hate movement against males, intent on destroying all rights of every male. Hate target of Political Correctness

When are we going to get together and have that "MAN STRIKE?"

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Submitted by MR on Mon, 2012-07-09 10:40

Obviously, a man must now register to get his rights, but if he doesn't register, he can still be held responsible.

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Submitted by Kratch on Mon, 2012-07-09 14:42

It really says a lot when adoption agencies and the women's lobby agree with one another about what the best interests of fathers is. I would rather swim in a pond full of crocodiles rather than believing anything that feminists say about a father's best interests. There's already a national putative father's registry - it's called the Selective Service. This one is even worse. It's like a Selective Service where you're guaranteed to get drafted if you don't register, but it's still hit or miss if you do.

The idea that men are presumed to have given up their parental rights unless they register after each time they have sex is inhumane and preposterous. Does anyone even have a freaking clue how many registrations that would take to register every instance of sex out of wedlock that ever happened in this country? Men who don't want children should be offered another option - practical, affordable, discrete forms of birth control. That will solve a hell of a lot more adoption problems than any putative father's registry ever would.

A mother has absolutely no moral right to keep the existence of a child a secret from the child's father in the first place. So why should she have any such right when she chooses to put the child up for adoption? What the hell is this nonsense about ensuring her privacy really all about? If a mother feels that her personal safety is at risk if she were to notify the biological father then she should be able to go to court, name the father, and explain to a judge why she feels he shouldn't be notified. Otherwise, her information should be made available because children have a right to their fathers.

Just for kicks, I looked up some of the information that MUST be provided by a father on a putative father's registry (Arizona):

The Notice of Claim of Paternity must include all of the following information:
Child’s Name (if known)
The putative father’s name
The putative father’s address (The putative father must notify the state Office of Vital Record of any change in address.)
The name of the birth mother (current legal name and maiden name)
The last known address of the birth mother
The date of birth of the child or the probable month and year of the expected birth of the child.

So, how ridiculous is it to say that a putative father's registry is intended to protect the privacy of a mother if the registry requires fathers to know all of the information that's actually important to a mother's privacy, and then some?.

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Submitted by dungone on Mon, 2012-07-09 20:19