She had a common law husband until he left. Would you like to talk to married women here who have 8 or 9 children? Yes there is such a thing called birth control, and some religions consider it a grave sin. Seeing that the woman was with this man through the births of 8 children, until he walked out, what makes you think she's stupid? Are women supposed to assume that their marriage (common law or state sanctioned) is going to fall apart, and violate their beliefs so that someone, somewhere won't take offense at their situation? Should they use contraception because he might abandon the family?
I would agree if this woman had 7 baby daddies for her family. What I'm getting from you and the rest of the posters, is that if a woman gets stranded with a large number of children, she is stupid, a slut, a leech, and should be forced to live in a cardboard box.
She was hanging in there until her transportation broke down, and the house caught on fire.
I actually believe in common-law marriage--or at least, I don't believe that it's the state's job to tell people who is and who isn't married.
However, she doesn't call the man her "husband"; she reports that she was "engaged" to him when he left for the East coast. In other words, she did not think of him as a husband. Based on that information, I'm willing to bet you $500 that all of the following are true:
The first time she slept with him was before he lived with her. If he ever did, that is: one would think so, but the article doesn't say.
This man was not the first she slept with.
This man was not the last she slept with (OK, that's a gimme).
At least one of her children was born before she got "engaged" to this guy.
"Slut"? Maybe not; she has slept with at least three men, which is some people's definition of a slut, but we have no reason to believe that she is much more promiscuous than the average American female. "Stupid"? Most definitely. At the very least, she made eight babies with a man, without first making sure he was committed for life. If he assured her he was, then she's stupid for taking him at his bare word; horny men always say that. If not, she's doubly stupid.
And finally, if she honestly believes that single-parent families are as healthy for children as two-biological-parent families, then she's more than stupid. She is, intentionally or not, a child abuser.
That pretty much covers it.
If a young girl has a child out of wedlock that should be considered a mistake, albeit a stupid one. When the second one is born both should be taken from her and she should be sent to a reformatory because she is a threat to society!
This simpleton is nothing but a breed sow.
Yes there is such a thing called birth control, and some religions consider it a grave sin.
It's also a religious sin to have sex, let alone children, without being married. I doubt a woman who would have 8 children by one father (not married) and an additional 2 children, also without marriage, could quote any religious reservations against much of anything.