Divorce

{{law}}
'''Divorce''', or as some [[woo]]-meisters call it, "conscious uncoupling",<ref>[https://goop.com/work/relationships/conscious-uncoupling-2/ Conscious Uncoupling] by Habib Sadeghi & Sherry Sami,  ''Goop''.</ref> is the legal closure of [[marriage]].

Divorce is a right long sought after by the [[homosexual]] Mafia, among other things. It is a long-held tradition of [[Christian]] [[family values]], and it's so important to heterosexuals that they decided to make a [[California Proposition 8|law]] in [[California]] that they and only they should have the right to divorce.{{efn|On 31 August 2010, the 5<sup>th</sup> [[Texas]] Court of Appeals one-upped the voters of California by ruling that gays married in other states could not divorce while living as residents of Texas.<ref>[http://caselaw.findlaw.com/tx-court-of-appeals/1536784.html In Re: The marriage OF J.B. AND H.B. In Re State of Texas] (Decided: August 31, 2010) Court of Appeals of Texas, Dallas. No. 05-09-01170-CV</ref> (Yessiree, Bob! We hate 'em, we hate 'em getting married, but we'll be goddamned if we let them get divorced once they go out of state to get married!)}} To further highlight divorce as a sacrament reserved only for heterosexuals, [[Rush Limbaugh]] has obtained ''three'' divorces. The only previously divorced [[President of the United States|Presidents of the United States]] were, of course, [[Ronald Reagan|Teflon Ron]] and [[Donald Trump|Orange Tupée]].

Divorce is second only to homosexuality in terms of destructive power to a Good Christian Marriage. There are some very consistent [[Religious Right]]-types who are intent on either banning divorce outright, or making it much harder to get.<ref>[http://www.firstthings.com/article/1997/08/001-end-no-fault-divorce End No-Fault Divorce?]</ref><ref>[http://www.dailykos.com/story/2013/3/5/1191808/-Iowa-Republican-wants-to-ban-divorce-so-his-granddaughter-doesn-t-become-a-slut Iowa Republican wants to ban divorce so his granddaughter doesn't become a slut]</ref> This includes things like pushing for [[covenant marriage]]s. However, despite the popularity of banning [[same-sex marriage]]s, for some reason very few people want to make it harder for themselves to get a divorce.

==Divorce and liberty==
[[Conservatives]] usually refer to rising divorce rates and falling marriage rates as an example of "the deterioration of moral values" and supposedly a modern problem. In reality, they are wrong.

High divorce rates are nothing more than the result of a civilization recognizing the [[liberty|freedom]] of its people to create and end relationships as they see fit. Doing so ensures that incompatible relationships are not mandated to continue and people are permitted to find someone they are actually happy with rather than being miserable for the rest of their lives.

A parallel can be made in the [[free market]], with the right of people to easily form companies and break them apart. This allows many permutations and people with similar interests to come together, as well as drift apart when a relationship isn't working. Arguing against divorce is the equivalent of saying that if someone formed a failed company with a con artist, he should never have the right to break apart from it till death. One can only imagine how well this would work.

Predictably, the countries with the lowest divorce rates are often the ones with miserable [[authoritarian]] family structures. Countries like [[Iran]], [[Libya]], [[United Arab Emirates]], and [[Afghanistan]] occupy one end of the list as low divorce [[heaven]], while countries like the [[USA]], [[UK]], [[Finland]], and [[Denmark]] are populated with [[evil]], [[Morality|amoral]], divorce-happy [[heathen]]s.

==Divorce and children==
While not all married couples end up having children (and not all parents get married), providing a stable two-parent household in which to raise children is one of the traditional purposes of marriage. In fact, one of the arguments for legalizing gay marriage was so that the children of gay couples could feel like their family had the same legal and cultural legitimacy as others.<ref>https://law.stanford.edu/2015/06/26/obergefell-a-victory-for-children/</ref>

Given that all relationships are imperfect and have periods when the partners don't get along well, one of the great questions that will face many married couples is how much time and effort they should spend trying to repair a troubled marriage before giving up, and how imperfect of a relationship they should ultimately be willing to accept living with, for the sake of the kids.

Some have argued that children actually suffer more from years of watching their parents fight than they would if their parents divorced.<ref>http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/01/27/kids-and-divorce-_n_4676361.html</ref><ref>http://www.huffingtonpost.com/joe-deprospero/the-unsaid-problem-with-staying-together-for-the-kids_b_6055010.html</ref><ref>http://www.heysigmund.com/unhappy-marriage-and-kids/</ref> It is even argued that many of the problems experienced by children of divorce can be traced back to the family conflict that pre-dated the divorce rather than to the divorce itself.<ref>http://www.childtrends.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/Marital-Disruption-Conflict-and-the-Well-Being-of-Children.pdf</ref>

Divorce does not, of course, always automatically end the conflict between parents, as they may continue battling over custody and other matters.

==No-fault divorce==
'''No-fault divorce''' is divorce without a court trial. Before the introduction of no-fault divorce, a person wishing to end a marriage — aka, the "plaintiff", "petitioner", or "complainant" — had to go to court and prove that the actions of their spouse — aka, the "respondent" — constituted sufficient grounds for divorce. Some of the more common grounds were [[adultery]], long-term [[prison|incarceration]], [[insanity]], abandonment, and [[Domestic violence|cruelty]].

Any third-party participating in these actions — e.g., a mistress or a friend who the respondent would allow to participate in abusing the plaintiff — could be named as a "co-respondent". In some jurisdictions, co-respondents were required for divorce proceedings to take place. Occasionally, should there be no adequate grounds, lawyers would help one or both parties manufacture grounds — including the hiring of a mistress — in order that the divorce would be approved.<ref>Nicholas H. Wolfinger 2005. [https://books.google.com/books?id=kqx0hedojloC&lpg=PA123&ots=g_dnz5rSAf&dq=divorce%20co-respondent%20mistress%20hired&pg=PA123#v=onepage&q=divorce%20co-respondent%20mistress%20hired&f=false Understanding the Divorce Cycle: The Children of Divorce in their Own Marriages], p.123</ref>

The [[Bolsheviks]] introduced the first no-fault divorce law in the [[Soviet Union]] in 1918, shortly after the [[October Revolution]] of 1917.<ref>[https://heinonline.org/HOL/LandingPage?handle=hein.journals/branlaj14&div=9&id=&page= No-Fault Divorce: Born in the Soviet Union] by Donald M. Bolas (1975-1976) 14 ''J. Fam. L.'' 31.</ref><ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20101101202606/https://www.abajournal.com/magazine/article/and_then_there_was_none/ And Then There Was None] by Jill Schachner Chanen (Nov 1, 2010 4:30 AM CDT) ''ABA Journal''.</ref> Prior to this, marriage in [[Russia]] had been controlled by the [[Eastern Orthodox Church|Russian Orthodox Church]]. This changed because [[communist]] policies required that all church functions be transferred to the state. Before that, no-fault divorce was also introduced in [[France]] in 1792 during the [[French Revolution]], before its abolition by the Restoration. 

Because [[Red-baiting|the "Commies"]] were among the first to institute no-fault divorce, many saw no-fault divorce as a [[socialist]] plot to undermine [[family values]] and destroy the family. However, as more people — especially [[feminists]] — examined this new model of divorce, they found that no-fault could allow people — both men and women — to escape the trap of abusive spouses.  

In the [[United States]], [[California]] was the first state to institute no-fault divorce, which took effect on 1 January 1970.{{efn|Before 1970, [[Nevada]]&nbsp;— which liberalized its divorce laws in the 1930s&nbsp;— was the only divorce haven outside of the Soviet Union. Complainants needed a mere six-weeks residency&nbsp;— Reno was the most popular destination&nbsp;— to file for divorce. However, although Nevada provided many grounds for divorce and a fairly easy burden of proof, the state still required a divorce trial. Another such haven was, of all places, [[Alabama]] between 1945 and 1970,<ref>[http://www.al.com/living/index.ssf/2013/03/when_alabama_flourished_as_div.html When Alabama flourished as divorce mill, famous people flocked here to get unhitched (Odd Travels)] by Kelly Kazek (Mar 14, 2013) ''Al.com''.</ref> which had abolished its residency requirement in 1945. In fact, at one point, Alabama beat Nevada at its game!}} Surprisingly, the last state to adopt no-fault divorce was not [[Utah]], but [[New York]] on 15 August 2010.

Starting in 2023 following [[far-right]] [[antifeminist]] [[Steven Crowder]]'s rant against his wife initiating a no-fault divorce, there has been growing criticism by [[Republicans]] against no-fault divorce.<ref>[https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2024/11/09/no-fault-divorce-jd-vance-conservatives/ Women fear Republicans will move to overturn no-fault divorce laws: Trump’s win has sparked worries on social media about another rollback of women’s rights, but the president-elect can do little to impact state divorce laws.] by Kim Bellware & Annabelle Timsit (November 9, 2024 at 9:00 a.m. EST) ''The Washington Post''.</ref> In 2021, then future Senator and Vice President [[J. D. Vance]] compared spouses to underwear, stating:

{{quotebox|...these marriages were fundamentally — you know, they were maybe even violent, but certainly they were unhappy. And so getting rid of them, and making it easier for people to shift spouses like they change their underwear, that’s going to make people happier in the long term. … And maybe it worked out for the moms and dads, though I’m skeptical.<ref>[https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2024-08-09/jd-vance-orange-county-high-school-pacifica-divorce-marriages-dave-min-scott-baugh At O.C. event, JD Vance said divorces after unhappy, ‘even violent’ marriages ‘didn’t work out for the kids’] by Laura J. Nelson (Aug. 9, 2024 11:03 AM PT) ''Los Angeles Times''.</ref>}}

The election of Vance to high office and his affiliation with the anti-no-fault-divorce [[Heritage Foundation]].<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20240307084956/http://thf_media.s3.amazonaws.com/2001/pdf/bg1421.pdf Encouraging Marriage and Discouraging Divorce] by Patrick F. Fagan (March 26, 2001) ''The Heritage Foundation Backgrounder'' (archived from March 7, 2024).</ref><ref>[https://www.heritage.org/sites/default/files/2017-07/04%202017_IndexofCultureandOpportunity_Introduction.pdf Introduction, ''Index of Culture & Opportunity''] J. D. Vance (2017) ''The Heritage Foundation''.</ref>
No-fault divorce is a feminist issue because the institution of these laws resulted in "large decline in [[domestic violence]] for both men and women in states that adopted unilateral divorce."<ref name=stevenson>[https://www.nber.org/system/files/working_papers/w10175/w10175.pdf Bargaining in the shadow of law: Divorce laws and family distress] by Betsey Stevenson & Justin Wolfers (2003) ''National Bureau of Economic Research''.</ref>{{rp|3}} Although domestic violence decreased against both men and women, in the US women are five times more likely than men to be victims of domestic violence.<ref>[https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK499891/ Domestic Violence] by Martin R. Huecker (April 9, 2023) ''StatPearls''.</ref> Suicide rates in states that adopted no-fault divorce also declined by 20% over time but had no effect on male suicide rates.<ref name=stevenson/>{{rp|3}}

==Divorce and religion==
===Divorce and Roman Catholicism===
In the [[Roman Catholic Church]], divorcees who have not remarried may receive [[Eucharist|Communion]], and this has been so for a long time. [[Pope Francis]] issued new guidelines which were a bit vague, probably necessarily to keep conservative and liberal Catholics together. In Philadelphia, where the Church hierarchy is conservative, remarried divorcees may officially receive communion only if one of the following applies:
#They had their first marriage(s) annulled.  
#They live together as brother and sister without [[sex]].
#They go to [[confession#Catholic confession|confession]] regularly after having sex.<ref>[https://whyevolutionistrue.wordpress.com/2016/07/06/the-compassionate-catholic-church-divorced-people-can-take-holy-communion-so-long-as-they-dont-ever-have-sex-and-gays-should-try-to-be-heterosexual/ The compassionate Catholic church: Divorced people can take Holy Communion so long as they don’t ever have sex, and gays should try to be heterosexual] [https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/jul/06/philadelphia-catholic-church-rules-divorce-gay-sex Remarried couples should abstain from sex, Philadelphia Catholic church says]</ref>
Other dioceses are probably more liberal.<ref>[http://www.patheos.com/blogs/friendlyatheist/2016/07/08/philadelphia-archbishop-remarried-couples-should-be-like-brother-and-sister-and-abstain-from-sex/ Philadelphia Archbishop: Remarried Couples Should Be “Like Brother and Sister” and Abstain From Sex]</ref>

===Divorce and (American) fundamentalism===
A commonly noted phenomenon is that [[Red state|"red" states]] most obsessed with preventing homosexual marriage also tend to have the highest divorce rates in the country. In fact, a 2014 study published by the University of Chicago has shown that not only do religious conservatives marry earlier, the main apparent cause of increased divorce, but in county-by-county analysis, "individual religious conservatism is positively related to individual divorce risk, solely through the earlier transitions to adulthood and lower incomes of conservative Protestants. However, the proportion of conservative Protestants in a county is also independently and positively associated with both the divorce rate in that county and an individual’s likelihood of divorcing. The earlier family formation and lower levels of educational attainment and income in counties with a higher proportion of conservative Protestants can explain a substantial portion of this association."<ref>"Red States, Blue States, and Divorce: Understanding the Impact of Conservative Protestantism on Regional Variation in Divorce Rates" by Jennifer Glass and Philip Levchak. ''American Journal of Sociology''. Vol. 119, No. 4 (January 2014), pp. 1002-1046 [http://www.jstor.org/discover/10.1086/674703?uid=3739744&uid=2134&uid=2&uid=70&uid=4&uid=3739256&sid=21104422177167]</ref> Other commonly cited factors, such as unmarried cohabitation, don't demonstrate any statistical relationship.

==Divorce and disability blame==
Children or adults with disabilities may be [[Ableism|wrongly accused]] of causing divorce.

===Blaming autistic children===
[[Autism Speaks]] has claimed that parents of [[Autism|autistic]] children have an 80% chance of divorce.<ref>[https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/toxic-parenting-myths-make-life-harder-for-people-with-autism-that-must-change/2019/02/25/24bd60f6-2f1b-11e9-813a-0ab2f17e305b_story.html?utm_term=.1bc145e34e0c Toxic parenting myths make life harder for people with autism. That must change.]</ref> Not blaming the kid(s) is a crucial part of handling divorce well,<ref>[https://www.worcestercountymediation.com/parental-conflict-after-divorce-dont-blame-the-kids/ Parental Conflict After Divorce: Don’t Blame the Kids!]</ref> but apparently it's totally fine for giant organizations to blame children as long as they're autistic.

Research shows that having an autistic child does not change the likelihood of divorce.<ref>[https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21590433 Relationship status among parents of children with autism spectrum disorders: a population-based study.]</ref>

===Blaming a disabled spouse===
Maxine Aston invented the pseudoscientific condition [[Cassandra affective deprivation disorder]] in order to blame autistic or alexithymic spouses for any marital problems.

==See also==
* [[Marriage]]

==External links==
*[http://www.rawa.org/womenstill.htm The wonders of no no-fault divorce]
*[http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/rwb.nsf/db900SID/MYAI-7SSADT?OpenDocument The wonders of liberty]

==Notes==
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==References==
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[[Category:Culture]]
[[Category:Feminism]]
[[Category:Law]]
[[Category:Religion]]

Categories: Culture, Feminism, Law, Religion