Audrey Devine is a business owner in Southern California. When Audrey was just 6 months old her parents got divorced. Audrey’s dad got custody of her and she rarely saw her mother. It wasn’t until Audrey was 28 years old that her mother disclosed to her that the man who raised her wasn’t her biological father. Not knowing whether to believe her mother, Audrey decided to seek out the truth on her own and have a DNA test done. The test did exclude her dad from being my biological father.

Hurt, confused, and curious, Audrey set out to find her biological father. She found him when she was 32 years old. Aside from just being curious about who her father was she also wanted to learn more about her biological family and about her family medical history. Learning about her family medical history was especially important to Audrey because she had been diagnosed with two types of cancer.

According to Audrey, “…I would have benefitted greatly from knowing my medical history early on because I discovered that breast cancer runs in my biological family. I learned that both my biological grandmother and great grandmother died from breast cancer. I also learned that there are heart issues within my biological family that I am thankful to now know — not only for myself but for my sons. …”

Audrey wants to see changes made in the area of paternity fraud for many reasons — but mainly because she has seen firsthand the value in knowing your medical history. Audrey states, “…It can literally be a matter of life and death. Had I known that breast cancer ran in my family and that two of my family members had died from it I could have sought out preventative measures early on. My situation could have been much different, much better, had I known the truth. …”

Audrey also states, “…All children deserve to know who their biological fathers are, their extended family, and their medical history. If not, it is devastating to all involved. Nobody benefits from not knowing the truth. I never had the opportunity be an active part of my biological father’s life, know my grandparents, and learn about my medical history that would have allowed me to take preventative measures. All of this could have been avoided had I just been told the truth. …”