It takes more to be a father than the biological connection found on a paternal DNA test. Fathers have a very important role in their children’s lives. This role includes taking part in their educational, emotional, and spiritual lives. The law is clear that a biological father as determined by paternal DNA testing is responsible for child support but the actual custody of the child might be completely in the hands of the biological mom, especially where divorce or single parenting is concerned.
Non-traditional fathers include divorced fathers with visitation or custody rights and divorced fathers who are estranged from their children. However, non-traditional fathers can also be stepfathers, live in or live out boyfriends, men who became fathers through adoption or foster care, stay at home dads, divorced dads, single dads raising children on their own, grandfathers, and dads raising both their own children and children the mother had from a previous relationship. The possibilities of fathering are limited less. Wherever there is a man taking care of a child that man should have the right to be a father if he wishes to be labeled as one.
One group of non-traditional dads who have made quite of lot of media attention is the homosexual couple, where two male partners claim fatherhood. Again one of these men may very well be the legal father that can easily be proven by a home paternity test, or a legal paternity DNA test, however in this new area of non-traditional parenting many gray areas arise.
What happens when a homosexual couple breakup and the non-biological Dad is now denied child visitations? This area of the law has not been addressed. For the most part, homosexual partners do not have legal rights. Same sex marriages used to be recognized in the state of California but is now overturned (by proposition 8). Massachusetts allows same sex marriage, Vermont, Connecticut, Washington, Oregon, New Hampshire, and New Jersey also allows same sex unions and marriages. While certain states such as New York, Iowa, and the District of Columbia recognizes out of state same sex marriages, only. There is no standard policy put forth for any non-traditional same sex father.
Barring legal issues, there is no difference between these non-traditional fathers and the divorced biological father counterparts who lose their right to be with their child. Love is love; it is not defined solely on the basis of a parental DNA connection or a legal definition. Non-traditional parents hurt just as much as any biological parent and many are actually better parents in the long run.