Well either they were stupid, or they knew exactly what they were doing.
I used to think that you should never attribute to malice what’s easily explained by stupidity. And as I’ve grown up, I find a lot of malicious assholes hide behind stupidity.
People cheated for sure, but if you were married you were simply on the hook for the offspring even if it wasn’t yours.
I’m not saying the law is good, I’m saying it made sense for the time it was passed in. Now that we have genetic testing to confirm paternity or should be repealed.
Or they could have just created the law that said “the child was conceived under wedlock, the husband is on the hook.”
But details. There’s no reason to use birth, as the critical time. Because if they knew she was pregnant to hold the divorce…. Then they could just make the guy cough up support. (Including while pregnant.)
Or they could have just created the law that said “the child was conceived under wedlock, the husband is on the hook.”
To make someone the father they have to inform them of it. There’s nothing stopping the father from flying the coop once divorced. While the proceedings are in progress, the judge has the right to keep the father to be present. And this was more of a concern when you could disappear and start a new life by moving across town.
Some how I don’t think they thought that through. Idiots.
Well either they were stupid, or they knew exactly what they were doing.
I used to think that you should never attribute to malice what’s easily explained by stupidity. And as I’ve grown up, I find a lot of malicious assholes hide behind stupidity.
Left to myself, I’m just gonna assume both. Malice and stupidity go hand in hand way too often
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What were they doing? I’m trying to figure out why you think this was stupid or malicious in the 70s
There was no genetic testing for paternity back then. If you weren’t married you could contest paternity.
‘Cuz nobody back then ever cheated…
Further the reality of parentage doesn’t change with a divorce. This is arbitrary bullshit.
People cheated for sure, but if you were married you were simply on the hook for the offspring even if it wasn’t yours.
I’m not saying the law is good, I’m saying it made sense for the time it was passed in. Now that we have genetic testing to confirm paternity or should be repealed.
Or they could have just created the law that said “the child was conceived under wedlock, the husband is on the hook.”
But details. There’s no reason to use birth, as the critical time. Because if they knew she was pregnant to hold the divorce…. Then they could just make the guy cough up support. (Including while pregnant.)
To make someone the father they have to inform them of it. There’s nothing stopping the father from flying the coop once divorced. While the proceedings are in progress, the judge has the right to keep the father to be present. And this was more of a concern when you could disappear and start a new life by moving across town.