Genetic identity testing and the family: The articulation
between biotechnology and family relationships, politics and
policy.
Australian Research Council, Discovery Grant, DP0450010,
2004-2006.
Research team
About the project
The widespread use of DNA paternity testing has given rise
to a range of questions about paternity itself and what it
is that constitutes family and kinship bonds. The fact that
people can access testing directly from commercial companies
rather than go through formal Family Court proceedings has
presented a challenge to current legislation as well as to
families.
The Australian Law Reform Commission and Australian Health
Ethics Committee (ALRC/AHEC) have produced a comprehensive report that
includes recommendations on how to regulate and control the
use of genetic paternity testing.
Recently the Australian Federal Government has released
a formal response to
these recommendations.
Objectives of the study
To date there is very little social research on paternity
testing. This research project provides the first data in
the world on the structure of the demand for paternity tests,
and the structure of the industry that provides them.
The main objectives of the study are to:
-
Gain a better understanding of the social dynamics of
DNA paternity testing in Australia
-
Provide a profile of the DNA identity testing industry
in Australia and compare it with United States and the United
Kingdom .
It will:
-
Map existing patterns of genetic paternity testing in
the Australian population by conducting a survey of who
is tested and why;
-
Examine the mobilisation of social movements around genetic
testing;
-
Clarify the underlying family dynamics that lead to identity
testing through telephone interviews . If you or a member
of your immediately family have been tested or are uncertain
about paternity and would like to participate in the study
(Freecall: 1800 007 166 or Email dnasurvey@swin.edu.au)
-
Provide a framework for informed policy development in
relation to genetic testing and the family, including policy
recommendations.
-
Contribute towards a more sophisticated theoretical understanding
of the family in the context of biotechnology and the rising
genetic paradigm.
Main findings so far:
The experience of paternity testing and paternity
uncertainty
Paternity secrets: Why women don't tell
The first paper in this series about the experience
of paternity testing and paternity uncertainty reports findings
from a group of women participants. The reasons they give
for keeping secrets about paternity are complex and the findings
indicate that these women did not necessarily set out to
deceive. The paper suggests that current understandings of
the problem, based on the idea of "paternity fraud", make
it difficult for both men and women to work out arrangements
that are in the best interests of the child.
Turney, L. (2005). 'Paternity
Secrets: Why women don't tell'. Journal of Family
Studies. Vol. 11. No.2. pp. 227-245
The industry
DNA Paternity Tests:
A comparative analysis of the US and Australia
There are five times as many DNA paternity tests per capita
in the US than Australia . This is not a consequence of 'technological
lag', but a combination of political, cultural and economic
factors.
Gilding, M. 2006, 'DNA Paternity Tests: A comparative
analysis of the US and Australia ', Health Sociology
Review , forthcoming .
Analysis of policy issues
Rampant misattributed paternity: the creation of an
urban myth
There is a common view that misattributed paternity is
widespread in Western societies, between ten and 30 per cent
of all births. Such estimates are an urban myth. The actual
evidence suggests that the true extent of misattributed paternity
is closer to one per cent, and not more than three per cent.
Gilding, M. 2005, 'Rampant
Misattributed Paternity: The Creation of an Urban Myth', People
and Place , vol. 13, no. 2.
DNA paternity testing without the knowledge or consent
of the mother
The most controversial policy issue in relation to DNA
paternity testing is testing without the knowledge or consent
of the mother. The debate is highly polarized. This article
suggests that the policy solution does not need to adopt
this dichotomous framework.
Gilding, M. 2004, 'DNA
paternity testing without the knowledge or consent of the
mother: new technology, new choices, new debates', Family
Matters , Australian Institute of Family Studies, no.
68, Winter.
Genetic testing and the ownership of genetic information
This chapter analyses the benefits and disadvantages of
mandatory paternity testing at birth as a specific example
of genetic testing. It raises issues about ownership of genetic
information that challenge existing moral and ethical frameworks.
Turney, L. (2006). 'Essentially whose? Genetic testing
and the ownership of genetic information'. In M.Betta (Ed). The
Social and Commercial Imperatives of Genetic Testing and
Screening. The Australian Case. Kluwer Academic Publishers:
Dordrecht . (in press)
Public attitudes to paternity testing
The incidental discovery of non-paternity through medical
testing
Reports focus group findings in relation to the ethical
dilemma faced by a doctor who has discovered through medical
testing that the father is not biologically related to the
child. What should he do?
Turney, L. (2005). T'he incidental discovery of nonpaternity
through genetic carrier screening: an exploration of lay
attitudes', Qualitative Health Research: An International
Interdisciplinary Journal , Vol.15. No 5. pp. 620-634.
The influence of the claim of "paternity fraud" on
public attitudes
This paper investigates the influence of men's rights activists
on public perceptions of paternal obligation and the need
for paternity testing.
Turney, L. (2004/2005). 'Power, knowledge and the discourse
of "paternity fraud"'. International
Journal of the Humanities . Vol.2. No.1. pp.223-231.
Public perceptions and the influence of gender
A large random survey of public attitudes
found that people are comfortable with DNA testing and there
were no differences according to gender. In follow-up focus
groups we found that, when people have a stake in testing,
attitudes to paternity testing were sharply divided by gender.
Turney, L., Gilding, M., Critchley, C., Shields, P., Bakacs, L. & Butler,
K. (2003). 'Genetic
paternity testing: Public perceptions and the influence of gender'. Australian
Journal of Emerging Technologies and Society . Vol.1.No.1 , pp.
1-17.
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