I'm old enough to remember when being unwed and pregnant was shameful and unwed mothers were looked down upon. The men or boys who impregnated them deserved condemnation too but didn't get it.
In my high school, if a girl even got married she had to quit school. Now some public schools have day care for the children of students.
My daughter teaches at a public high school and a couple of years ago in one of her classes she had 3 pregnant 16 year old girls, one with her second child.
Where's the shame?
In the noble effort to remove the unfair stigma of illegitimacy from the innocent children who did not ask to be born of unwed parents, society went overboard and excused the parents as well. Bad move. Without the stigma, and with the government assistance that made it more lucrative to be an unwed mother than a married one for many young women at lower income levels, came the explosion. Soon, as benefits “for the children” expand like in the U.K., there will be no good reason for anyone to marry except childless homosexuals in love. WESTERN CULTURE IS TOAST.
I agree that the stigma on bearing an illegitimate child has disappeared. It is merely quibbling over details to argue about whether that came first or acceptance of divorce came first. The point is, if we are to stop this slide, action needs to be taken.
If the Republicans are to make morality an issue, they need to clean their own house first.