THE FAMILY WAY

Unwed fathers have a very bad rep--many abandon their pregnant partners or deny paternity or refuse to pay child support. So it seems ironic that when a man does try to be a father, the legal system may work against him.

Take the case of Michael Hirschensohn, 49. In 1978, Hirschensohn, then a self-employed businessman, began an affair with a married woman. When she had a daughter three years later, blood tests determined that there was a 98% probability that Hirschensohn was the father. She left her husband and the three lived together off and on until 1984, when the mother returned to her husband and would not let Hirschensohn visit the girl.

Hirschensohn began a five-year fight over visitation rights that went as far as the Supreme Court, which in a 5-4 ruling in 1989 upheld a California law that presumes the husband to be the father. Appalled, Hirschensohn founded a Los Angeles-based organization, Equality Nationwide for Unwed Fathers. The group, which he says has several hundred members, lobbies against laws it considers discriminatory and refers people to attorneys and support groups. “We try to make sure that unwed fathers and their children get their day in court, like any other parent,” says Hirschensohn.

Meanwhile, the girl and her family moved to New York in 1984, and Hirschensohn began proceedings in New York courts, which also ruled against him. Hirschensohn is now asking courts in California and New York to amend their prior decisions. Amid the legal labyrinth, he has managed seven visits with the girl, who is now 11. And while he may have lost his personal legal battle, the case has raised legal questions nationwide; during 1990-’91, California, Texas and Massachusetts amended their visitation laws, citing opinions by the dissenters in the Supreme Court ruling in Hirschensohn’s case.

“While helping others eases the pain,” Hirschensohn says, “nothing can replace losing your daughter--especially when you know she’s out there.”