SALEM (AP) - The always touchy issues of paternity and alimony are getting new attention from lawmakers concerned about the effects of divorce.

A bill that would end alimony after an ex-spouse remarries has backers in both parties, and one giving men more time to challenge paternity claims is headed to a Senate vote.

Effects could be broad-reaching. Oregon has 15,000 divorces a year, and about a quarter of challenged paternity cases show the man in question is not the father.

"We have to treat these issues very carefully and not let ourselves get caught up with the emotion," said Sen. Ginny Burdick, D-Portland, Senate Judiciary Committee chair.

Dr. Blair Halperin, a Portland cardiologist, has made three trips to Salem seeking change in the state's spousal support law.

He was married in 1987 and divorced in 1999. Halperin agreed to pay his ex-wife "maintenance support" until she turned 65. When she remarried three months later, a judge suspended the support obligation.

The marriage didn't last, and Halperin said his ex was back in court seeking to reinstate support. A judge granted the request because Oregon doesn't automatically terminate spousal support obligations upon remarriage.

"At some point, you should not be able to go back to a former spouse and reconnect for support," said Sen. Floyd Prozanski, D-Eugene. Senate Bill 945 would do that.

Oregon allows various types of spousal support and the flexibility to address individual needs, said Susan Grabe of the Oregon Bar Association.

Continuing spousal support beyond remarriage reflects a more "modern view," said Kathy T. Graham, who teaches family law at Willamette University.

Burdick said Senate Bill 945 may make it out of her committee, but she has asked the state bar to examine the issue and make recommendations to the 2007 Legislature.

Last month, the House Judiciary Committee heard from a Portland-area man who was married for 20 years but recently learned one of the couple's two teenagers isn't his biological child.

He told the committee that DNA testing ruled him out but that proving it in Oregon is another matter.

State law said children born during a marriage are presumed to belong to the husband. He must pay child support and meet other obligations in any case.

Senate Bill 234, voted out of committee last week, would allow a married man to end his paternity obligations if blood or DNA tests prove the child is not his.

The bill would give an unmarried man two years to challenge a paternity claim. Current law allows one year.

"The woman who wants to get welfare only has to put down a name, and under the law the guy only has one year to challenge," said Victor Smith, executive director of Dads America, a Portland-based national advocacy group lobbying for changes.

Even initial opponents of the group's proposal agree Oregon's paternity law could be updated. A handful of states have done so.

The two sides agreed that any reforms passed this year would sunset in 2007, allowing time for a study group to examine the law and return with a comprehensive plan.

For lawmakers, the issues are both "very emotional and difficult," said Rep. Wayne Krieger, R-Gold Beach, the House Judiciary Committee chairman. "Just because it's difficult doesn't mean we shouldn't do it."