Application of Non-Invasive Prenatal Paternity Testing in Early Pregnancy of Sexual Assault Survivors

Non-invasive prenatal paternity testing is an early, accurate test of paternity using cell-free fetal DNA from maternal plasma. Fetal DNA can be detected as early as 6 weeks of gestation. Non-invasive prenatal paternity testing is a safe, reliable alternative to invasive procedures like amniocentesis. This systematic review and meta-analysis assesses Non-Invasive Prenatal Paternity Testing forensic applications, particularly in India, where paternity testing in rape cases is often delayed until post-abortion or childbirth. A thorough search of PubMed and other databases revealed nine studies that met the set inclusion criteria. The pooled analysis showed a sensitivity of 99.98% (95% CI: 99.96-100%), with sensitivity and specificity of 99.7% and 99.6%, respectively. Consistent results were achieved even at fetal fractions as low as 4%, which supports the use of Non-invasive prenatal testing for early gestational screening. The present legal framework of India restricts paternity testing in rape cases to post-abortion or childbirth, which causes delayed justice and emotional strain to the survivors. Non-invasive prenatal Paternity Testing can fill this gap if proper ethical safeguards, such as informed consent and data privacy, are in place. Moreover, its established use in obstetrics for fetal anomaly detection demonstrates that it is scalable in the Indian context.