DNA testing for paternity can change the course of a life. So to run a test on 鈥渟tolen鈥� DNA taken from an everyday item, such as a coffee cup or a baby鈥檚 dummy, is a gross invasion of privacy 鈥� especially when that DNA is an innocent child鈥檚 rather than the alleged father鈥檚. Either way, a child can be harmed if a covert test tears their family apart.
Even if other nations do not follow the UK鈥檚 lead in banning stealthy genetic tests (see 鈥淕enetic privacy: Who is testing your DNA?鈥�), laws on paternity testing merit review. One option would be to follow practice in France, where DNA tests can only be ordered in the context of a formal hearing to contest paternity. The court can consider the child鈥檚 interests and help to cushion life-altering shocks when the test results are disclosed.