Legislation cannot mandate a return to the beliefs of earlier generations or greater commitment to marriage. Nor would making it more difficult to obtain a divorce do anything to make marriages better. Instead, such constraints invite other problems. A return to fault as the basis for divorce promotes exactly the kind of accusation and counter-accusation that we know from considerable research to promote greater acrimony and therefore worse outcomes for everyone. Similarly, mandating the lengthening of the highly traumatic period of the legal processing of divorce accomplishes little, and probably increases risks for everyone.
Divorce is a complex outcome, neither intrinsically good nor bad.
Whether divorce is a positive or negative outcome depends on the issues in the specific family we are considering. In a family in which a parent is violent and abusive on a regular basis, particularly after efforts at intervention, divorce may primarily represent a positive outcome for most of the family. In families where the family life has been good for the children, divorce frequently represents a negative outcome for most family members. Research has demonstrated that mandatory mediation does help most divorcing couples in resolving issues of child custody and finances, and reduces considerably the acrimony that can form the basis for bad outcomes for everyone. Public education efforts to help people learn how to engage in better marriages are quite effective and should be promoted.