Cruel Discovery

Comedic scenes in films where a husband discovers the unfaithfulness of his wife through the physical features of the new-born baby such as skin color or other features alluding to a different race typically elicits laughter from the audience. The sense of humor being presented is only funny as far as make-believe situations are concerned. True-to-life discovery of infidelity of this nature is cruel and presents a slap on the face of the faithful husband.

Women who cheated on their husbands who allowed themselves to be discovered this way are probably hoping at the very last minute that they can continue to hide their indiscretion. Unfortunately for most women who dared cheat with a man of a different ethnic race or nationality, the baby itself can become the proof or evidence of infidelity. Cheating with a man of a similar race may be more difficult to prove solely on the basis of the physical features of the baby. When there is reasonable doubt however of the woman's fidelity, there is always the laboratory paternity testing to settle the issue.

What makes this kind of infidelity cruel is the appearance of an attempt to defraud the husband by the wife. Without any prior confession, there is every reason to believe that the wife will pass on the legal responsibility to her husband of being the father if she can get her way. This is quite unfair considering that paternal responsibilities include financial, emotional, and physical obligations, not to mention the rights that will be transferred to the child in benefits, income, and inheritance when the time comes.

The child itself is faultless. The responsibility of revealing the truth lies on the wife and mother alone. The betrayal and deception almost always lead to complicated futures for all concerned.