| The selection of a probability of paternity of 99.0% and a |
combined paternity index of 100 to 1 as the rebuttably identified |
man as father of the child is consistent with the year 2000 |
standard of practice in the genetic-testing community. |
Accrediting agencies require the reporting of both of these |
numbers. As of December, 2000, 27 states have established a |
presumption at less than this level. However, for several years |
the standard of practice in the scientific community has been |
99.0%. Therefore, raising the genetic presumption to the 99.0% |
level should have no impact on those states. This number |
represents a reasonable level of testing, given the breadth of |
the Act and potential difficulty of working with some specimens |
in a probate case. It is not intended as a standard of practice |
for the laboratories, but as a legal presumption to satisfy the |
legal standard of proof. Given the rapid progress of science, it |
is likely that accrediting standards will rise over time. If the |
standard of practice becomes more strict, the newer standards |
will be made routine by the requirement that laboratories be |
accredited in order to perform testing under the Act. But, the |
legal significance of the genetic presumption stated in this |
section will be unaffected. |