| The Osgood Files,
carried a segment about AASP and its advertising campaign today. CBS Radio Network Correspondent Charles Osgood has been called "one of
the last great broadcast writers" by no less authority than colleague Charles Kuralt.
Heard daily on the CBS Radio Network, Osgood anchors and writes THE OSGOOD FILES, four
commentaries on headlines or little-known news stories of his own choosing.
New Ohio Paternity Law Takes Effect
An Associated Press story published today reports that a new state law that took
effect Friday allows a man to sue to end his child support payments if genetic testing
proves he is not the father.
``Ohio no longer rewards mothers who lie about who the father of their baby is,'' said the
bill's sponsor, Rep. Peter Lawson Jones.
Like most states, Ohio had relied on a 500-year-old English common-law doctrine presuming
a man is the legal father of any child born to his wife during their marriage. The
doctrine existed because in medieval England a child shown to be illegitimate would have
virtually no rights.
According to the National Association of State Legislators only Colorado, Iowa and
Louisiana have passed similar paternity laws. Most states have policies like one in
California to forbid ``inquiries into the child's paternity that would be destructive of
family integrity and privacy.''
Dennis Caron, 44, testified before a Senate committee in support of Jones' bill. Caron got
a DNA test after his divorce that he said proved he wasn't the father of a boy he
thought was his son.
He sued to end paying child support after his ex-wife cut off his contact with the child,
but a judge refused to lift his obligation and jailed him for contempt.
After an eight-year legal battle, Caron is now suing his ex-wife for fraud in an attempt
to collect over $100,000 in past support payments and legal expenses.
Geraldine Jensen, president of the Association for Children for Enforcement of Support,
says Ohio has caught up with science.
``We have women that are separated but not divorced who become pregnant by another man
during the separation,'' she said. ``Under the old law, the court was bound to list the
man she was still married to as the child's father.''
Critics say the new law will disrupt children's lives and ruin families financially.
Officials said it also will cost the government an undetermined amount of money to pay for
DNA tests and legal work involved in welfare cases, in which county agencies rely on child
support as reimbursement.
``The deception causes more disruption in the long run,'' Jones argued.
According to the story, the state's Legislative Budget Office predicts that fewer than
1,000 men will successfully challenge support orders each year in Ohio under the law.
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| Fox News Channel
carried a story yesterday about the presidential candidates ignoring single and unmarried
voters. The story appeared during the news hour with Shepard Smith. Thomas F. Coleman, executive director of AASP, explained that even though
every single vote counts -- since the presidential race is so close -- the major
candidates have been unwilling to specifically address the concerns of single people and
directly ask for their vote.
Coleman also detailed some of the types of marital status
discrimination occurring in the workplace and in government tax laws.
Smith asked Coleman if any of the presidential candidates had
reached out to single voters. Coleman explained tha
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