MP declares war on ‘jacket’ giving - Heroy Clarke pushes for birth DNA-testing law

Amid shocking claims that an entertainer and a sportsman last year found out that they are not the biological fathers of the children they had been raising, a Jamaican lawmaker has vowed not to relent on his pledge to make DNA testing mandatory at birth to determine paternity.

The legislator, Heroy Clarke, who represents St James Central, said paternity fraud is a serious issue that needs to be addressed. He told THE STAR that he is currently fine-tuning a motion for tabling in the House of Representatives by next Tuesday.

In the latest edition of the THE W EEKEND STAR, DNA paternity and relationship testing company 876DNA said 47 per cent of the men it tested in 2024 were not the biological fathers of the children they had been raising. While the number is significantly lower than the 70 per cent that Polygenics Consulting reported, Clarke said the number is too high.

"This [article] only confirms my motion that this is a situation that is very prevalent in Jamaica and that we need to do something about it," said Clarke.

Clarke, who first introduced the proposal during the 2021 State of the Constituency Debates, told THE STAR that he is not concerned about any possible backlash for his stance.

The MP did not mince words about the emotional fallout of paternity fraud, describing the deep scars left on families.

"Whether there is going to be a backlash or not, it is really not a concern for me. What we need to do as a country is to do the right thing, and doing the right thing is what I am standing for," Clarke said.

"There are quite a number of persons who really want it to happen, because we are seeing families broken because of this situation. There are men who build relationships with the children who are not the father of the child; and is only when it has been taken to court it is proven, and at that point, a family would have already been broken," he added.