Having a child out of wedlock is impulsive; who will pay for the life?

Compiled from: Haidian District Court, Legal Home
 
Recently, explosive bombs in the entertainment industry have been detonated one after another, with topics involving legal, moral, and ethical issues such as "surrogacy," "abandonment," and "non-marital childbirth" sparking widespread social discussion. Regardless of how the public views and evaluates the "surrogacy incident" and the "unmarried childbirth incident," there is one undeniable fact: the issue of child custody.

 
 

Custody refers to a parent's personal right over their child. Custody can be divided into marital custody and non-marital custody. The children here include not only marital children but also non-marital children, as well as artificially conceived children (through artificial insemination and surrogacy), adopted children, and stepchildren with a custodial relationship.
 
 
Laws & Regulations
Civil Code of the People's Republic of China
Article 1071 
Non-marital children enjoy the same rights as marital children, and no organization or individual may harm or discriminate against them.
 
Interpretation of the Supreme People's Court on the Application of the Marriage and Family Section of the Civil Code of the People's Republic of China (I)
[1] Article 39, Paragraph 2
[2] If a parent or an adult child files a lawsuit requesting confirmation of a parent-child relationship and provides necessary evidence to prove it, and the other party has no contrary evidence but refuses to undergo a paternity test, the people's court may uphold the claim of the party seeking confirmation of the parent-child relationship.
 
[3] "Opinions of the General Office of the State Council on Resolving the Issue of Registering Household Registration for Persons without Household Registration"
[4] For persons without household registration born out of wedlock, the individual or their guardian may apply for permanent residence registration based on the "Medical Birth Certificate" and the resident household registration booklet of one parent, a marriage certificate, or a statement of non-marital birth, following the policy of voluntary registration with either parent. Those applying for registration with the father must also provide a paternity test certificate issued by a qualified appraisal institution.

 

 
[1] The author's perspective
[5] From the above legal provisions, it can be seen that in China, children born out of wedlock and children born in wedlock have no difference in rights. However, in terms of determining the biological father and establishing custody, the procedures for children born out of wedlock are more complex than those for children born in wedlock.
 
[6] 1. The father of a child cannot be determined solely based on the mother's statement.
Generally, natural blood relations are established due to a biological connection between a child and their parents, and children born within marriage are presumed to have a parent-child relationship. For children born outside of marriage, the mother can be identified through the fact of pregnancy and childbirth, but the father must be proven through a paternity test.
 
However, if the man believes the child is not his and refuses to support it, and the woman files a lawsuit and provides certain evidence while requesting a paternity test, if the man still refuses to cooperate, the court can presume the man to be the child's father.
 
2. Children born out of wedlock can also be registered under the father's household.
Since the determination of the father-child relationship for children born out of wedlock is more complex, if the child is to be registered under the father's household, a paternity test must be provided as proof.
 
3. If a dispute arises over custody of a child born out of wedlock, the principle of the best interests of the child is generally applied.
If the child is under two years old, the mother should typically have custody, but if the mother has a serious illness or fails to fulfill her parenting obligations, the child may live with the father.
 
If the child is over two years old, consideration is given to which party's conditions are more favorable for the child's growth. Common factors include: whether one party has lost the ability to bear children or has undergone sterilization; whether one party suffers from a serious illness; and whether the child has been living with one party consistently.
 
If the child is over eight years old, the child's own wishes should be respected.