Topic : 12/25 Parent Trap

In an ideal world I suppose someone would pass a law in which mandatory DNA testing at birth would be implemened.

of course then when the mother could not produce the correct father for each child I suppose the state  would have to step in and take financial responsibility for the child.

I am the court appointed father of such a child for which I have been paying support for the past 18 plus years and to this day he still has no idea that i'm not his dad, His sister however ismy child and also I pay support for her. At age 13 my daughter was moletsed by her stepfather and her mother witheld this from me,after my daughter turned 16 she herself told me of this at which point I tried to prosecute this man and found that the only right I have as a support paying parent isto increase the amount of payment that I make.

For women today the current child support laws are better than legalized prostitution and more lucrative.

Someone please tell me honetly is the system in place now the best the united states of america can offer?

 I watched a portion of the show and I am always stunned at people's reaction to this type of issue.  I think Gloria "whatever" is more interested in her career than in making sense.  Many of the laws in the US concerning paternity make no sense.  It makes even less sense not to hold a deliberately dishonest woman accountable for her desception.  A bilogical parent should be financially responsible for his child if he is aware or is made aware of the child's exsistance.  A man should be informed and able to choose to raise a child, not biologically his whether in or out of wedlock .  Once that choice is made is cannot be revoked in an effort to save money for the sake of the child.  If a man stands in loco parentea he should have all the rights and privileges of fatherhood including the possibility of custody should he choose, if the relatioship with the mother fails.

A man who finds that he is not the biological father of a child for whom he has been required to pay support, should not have to continue and the mother should be reqired to name the biological father. If she deliberately lied there should be some consequence.  One of the problems that adds to dead beat Dads is the constant issue of paternity which is often not resolved.

Uhm. . . excuse me, but the child's MOTHER is the one who has inflicted all the pain here,  NOT Enrique's new wife. As a matter of fact, I think Enrique's wife  did the right thing. She saw through the deceit and nonsense and helped her husband to see the truth. She's a strong woman. She's not some naive, passive little ornament or showpiece. She's a real wife who stood by her husband. Good for her!

The problem is the legal system is set up not to consider the children; perhaps because it was "set up" by adults.  Since when did being a parent mean you cannot be a parent unless you pay?  Enrique could have continued to be her father, but just not pay child support; that is the sperm donor's responsibility!  If any mother finds herself in financial need, it is her responsibility to her child to have the biological parent pay, if need be.  But just because you pay should not also mean you have a right to be in a child's life either, that right should be evaluated by professionals and let them determine if it is in the best interest of the child to have the sperm donor in the child's life; or the egg donor, which ever has chosen to be the absent parent.

Morally and legally there should be answers to two questions; Who needs to pay, and Who needs to parent?

I think the the Dad (she has known) should be able to see the child, let him spend money on her directly. The Mom forfeited child support  the minute she was found out. The father/child relationship should not have to suffer just because of the Mom, I'm sure he still loves her, yes he was wrong in the way he handled it, but anger always cloud judgement.  

Enrique's wife is responsible for this whole mess.  She should never have mentioned her suspicions.  Enrique is heartless.  It's all about the money.  Didn't he bond with this child after 10 years???  As for Carnell....what kind if relatiionship does he have with his "child".   Another disappointed, hurt child???

These men only thought of their egos and money.  The feelings of a child who had nothing to do with this whole mess never entered their thoughts.

Today’s program was excellent and I, too, feel the child always comes first. In my opinion, today’s show was more of a moral issue than a legal issue. I feel the law should not require a woman to divulge to their spouse whether or not she is having extra marital affairs. The reasoning behind my belief is I feel this is a personal and moral decision and besides the law does not require men to do the same. Enrique should  take responsibility for the fact that he married this woman and most of us should know what Forest Gump knew so well (thanks to his momma), “life is like a box of chocolate… you’ll never know what you are going to get.” Both Maria and Enrique made mistakes and they should stop pointing fingers at each other and they should do the right thing for Selena.

   In an ideal world, I think the right thing is (if Selena accepts) to allow Selena visitations with Enrique without requiring him to pay child support and lots of therapy for Selena.  Also, in my ideal world he should not object to contributing to Selena’s emotional and financial stability. I feel Selena’s new stepmother should have minded her own business. If Selena’s mother started this ordeal, her stepmother sure added lots of fuel to the fire. All she cares about is the extra money in her pocket all at the expense of a child’s mental and emotional wellbeing. Totally heartless! Who made the biggest mistake the woman that gave this man an adorable child or the woman who is trying to rid him of his child?