Marriage is becoming less of a priority than it used to be, and many children are born outside of it due to this fact. Traditional norms are changing, and people are starting to realize that giving a child a loving upbringing requires more than a ring or marriage certificate. However, some are unaccustomed to this idea or, rather, still believe that children should be born into a legally bound and committed family.
Like this woman who voiced such an opinion at sister’s pregnancy announcement, turning the evening into a lecture about how out-of-wedlock pregnancy is ‘sinful.’ The sibling felt extremely hurt by her behavior and decided to get back at her by exposing her own scandalous past.
Many children are born outside marriage, as it’s becoming less of a priority than it used to be
Image credits: Kateryna Hliznitsova / unsplash (not the actual photo)
However, this woman believes pregnancy out-of-wedlock is sinful and even shamed her sister for it
Image credits: Getty Images / unsplash (not the actual photo)
Image credits: AgreeableDecision807
Around 40% of babies in the US are born out of wedlock
Around 40% of babies in the US are born out of wedlock. Couples today don’t feel the need to marry when a baby enters the picture, mostly because of moral and behavioral changes happening in society. Marriage has also become less necessary for women and their financial survival, social interaction, and personal well-being since many of them have access to education and better work opportunities.
That’s why they’re marrying later or not doing it at all, which often results in pregnancies outside wedlock. Many couples also choose to use their money for their children’s upbringing or to purchase a home instead of spending it on an expensive wedding in this economy.
However, not so long ago, pregnancies outside marriage were negatively looked upon. “Not so many decades ago, giving birth out of wedlock was seen by some parts of society as untenable. Shocking stories of babies being taken from unmarried mothers abound,” said solicitor Deborah Cahill from The Family Law Company. That’s why the number of shotgun marriages was so high. A whopping 43% of unwed pregnancies resulted in a wedding out of necessity in the early 1960s.
“This is fortunately in the past, and no one now believes you have to be married to have children,” Cahill noted. As a result, the number of shotgun marriages has shrunk to 9% today. But even though many unmarried couples manage to successfully raise their children, there are still some considerable challenges these families might face.
On average, children raised outside of marriage generally have less fortunate outcomes
While statistics can’t tell us what is best for individual couples or children in specific circumstances, they paint quite a consistent view of kids with unmarried parents: on average, children raised outside of marriage generally have less fortunate outcomes compared to their peers raised in married-parent families. Typically, they also have worse relationships with their parents and are likely to experience abuse, poorer health, delinquent behavior, worse education and lower earnings in adulthood.
Childbearing out of wedlock is particularly worrisome in case of a separation, as parents might have greater difficulties obtaining financial assistance from previous partners. While today the law recognizes the existence of unmarried parents and grants them equal rights to their children, the same rights don’t apply to finances in case the relationship ends.
“Unmarried parents are here to stay and it will need a change in legislation to address their financial situation—which is not a prospect in the short term,” said Cahill.
“So while there is no moral objection to having children out of wedlock, legally, if you are set against marriage or a civil partnership, there is a good reason to look at putting a cohabitation agreement in place. This at least offers some protection should your relationship fail,” she recommends.
Some readers supported the original poster
While some started questioning the age difference between her and her husband
Part of readers also thought both sisters were at fault
And some believed the original poster was wrong here
