Germany mulls plan to force mothers to reveal child’s biological father

This is an automatic summary, original reduced by 29%.

A court would determine whether a mother could keep the biological father's identity a secret.

"We need to offer more legal protection for 'false' fathers to seek recourse," said the justice minister, Heiko Maas, as he announced the measure on Monday.

"The mother should only have the right to remain silent when there are serious reasons for her not to name the biological father."

The draft law limits the false father's financial claim to two years' worth of maintenance costs.

Maas began work on the legislation after a federal court ruling in February last year said the government needed to put men tricked into believing they were fathers on to a firmer legal footing.

Opinions vary on how many children grow up thinking the wrong man is their father, but German studies put the figure at between less than 4% and more than 10%. It was not immediately clear what penalties a woman who refused to name the biological father would face.

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