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For Women Under 30, Most Births Occur Out of Wedlock
New York Times ^ | February 17, 2012 | JASON DePARLE and SABRINA TAVERNISE

Posted on 02/18/2012 5:00:14 AM PST by reaganaut1

LORAIN, Ohio — It used to be called illegitimacy. Now it is the new normal. After steadily rising for five decades, the share of children born to unmarried women has crossed a threshold: more than half of births to American women under 30 occur outside marriage.

Once largely limited to poor women and minorities, motherhood without marriage has settled deeply into middle America. The fastest growth in the last two decades has occurred among white women in their 20s who have some college education but no four-year degree, according to Child Trends, a Washington research group that analyzed government data.

Among mothers of all ages, a majority — 59 percent in 2009 — are married when they have children. But the surge of births outside marriage among younger women — nearly two-thirds of children in the United States are born to mothers under 30 — is both a symbol of the transforming family and a hint of coming generational change.

One group still largely resists the trend: college graduates, who overwhelmingly marry before having children. That is turning family structure into a new class divide, with the economic and social rewards of marriage increasingly reserved for people with the most education.

“Marriage has become a luxury good,” said Frank Furstenberg, a sociologist at the University of Pennsylvania.

The shift is affecting children’s lives. Researchers have consistently found that children born outside marriage face elevated risks of falling into poverty, failing in school or suffering emotional and behavioral problems.

(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Front Page News
KEYWORDS: culture; culturewars; illegitimacy; moralabsolutes; trends; unwedmothers
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To: little jeremiah

the compassinate democrats started it with Johnsons War on Poverty...cut dads out of the picture, the government would help out with money for the girl and her baby to live on...It wasn’t just in the black community either...my son’s first wife came from a family of 10, (italian) 3 of her sisters were on welfare...one was a grandmother in her 30’s....


141 posted on 02/19/2012 2:54:56 PM PST by goat granny
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To: DNA.2012

Men should be responsible for their offspring, equally with the dams.

You apparently don’t agree with that.

E-Z divorce should be done away with, and there is no reason for women to get all the goodies as people describe on the thread.


142 posted on 02/19/2012 3:02:47 PM PST by little jeremiah (We will have to go through hell to get out of hell)
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To: goat granny

YIkes, a grandmother in her 30s!!! Welfare has hugely contributed to the moral sewer. It’s not the only thing, but it’s a major factor.


143 posted on 02/19/2012 3:04:51 PM PST by little jeremiah (We will have to go through hell to get out of hell)
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To: caww

“I’m not so certain there are enough of us who haven’t been blinded by this man and his agenda...”

You give people the benefit of the doubt; I think many of the people who still support him aren’t blinded by anything - they want what he represents. They aren’t being “mislead” at this point...


144 posted on 02/19/2012 3:18:18 PM PST by kearnyirish2
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To: little jeremiah
I also think abortion on demand let the guys off the hook on having to marry the girl...the total responsibility for killing the baby rested on her shoulders....Abortion was illegal in Michigan when I was a girl....

I remember an intervied done by one of the pushers for abortion at the supreme court..They took it to the supreme court cause it would be too expensive to go to each state...I think only 1 state had legal abortions...Of course when the SC ruled, all the states where it was illegal had to comply....

I'd bet if it was thrown back to the states, it would be outlawed in most even today. Its no constitutional right. Not in that document, but guns are named and the idiots want that to be unconstitutional...some people are crazy and I am thankful most are democrats, but the republican party isn't called stupid for nothing. They can pull defeat from the jaws of victory more times than I can remember...

145 posted on 02/19/2012 3:28:26 PM PST by goat granny
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To: little jeremiah
Men should be responsible for their offspring, equally with the dams. You apparently don’t agree with that.

That assessment doesn't accurately reflect what I wrote.

Putting an "equal responsibility" label on the current situation (woman gets custody of the kids, man pays for her to raise the kids) subsidizes illegitimacy and divorce: women can get the man's money without marriage to the man.

I'd love to see a lot of fathers having full custody: raising the children and correspondingly covering the bills.

146 posted on 02/19/2012 3:29:03 PM PST by DNA.2012
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To: kearnyirish2
people who still support obama aren’t blinded by anything - they want what he represents. They aren’t being “mislead” at this point...

Yes, your're right there really isn't any other justification for supporting him. So then the question is are there enough of us who don't want what he wants? I do wonder of the mindset of our nations peoples...where really does the majority stand?.....No doubt this election will show that.

147 posted on 02/19/2012 3:43:24 PM PST by caww
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To: goat granny
I also think abortion on demand let the guys off the hook

When someone's daughter or son is killed by someone else, their response is not joy at being "off a hook".

What a cold view of fatherhood you have.

148 posted on 02/19/2012 3:59:11 PM PST by DNA.2012
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To: little jeremiah
Sounds good to me. You can bet if these woman knew there would be no handouts they might very well think more than once about engaging in pre-marital sex. But that's not the reality of our nation which is all about sexual encounters now.

But... If you cut off the revenue they have no recourse but to their family's to help...and whatever private charities might help..... Additionally family members might re-think how they see the sexual freedom there is today...and their support of engaging may take on another picture in how they raise their sons and daughters.

But this is wishful thinking....it's not going to change much as long as the issue has become about contraceptives being avaiable for all. But of course contraceptives do not prevent sexual diseases ...so what they expect to save in unwanted pregnancies will end up footing the bill for sexually transmitted diseases....and already current drugs are no longer working as once did.

No matter how you look at this from pregnancies to sexually transmitted diseases...to single family homes...the issue of fathers in this equation is STILL hardly mentioned.

There should be a limit on how many children a man fathers out of wedlock before serious consquences for doing so. They'll never throw them in already overcrowded jails....garnishing their wages isn't working....so what about the fathers? As I see it it's just not about the mothers but the fathers also need to feel the pinch.

Make them work in these charitable organizations who would be footing the bill. But then they would simply move to another state etc. As they do now.

So you see again it's a no win situation no matter how it plays out...the fathers walk...the mothers and society are left to care for the child who had no say in the equation.

As I mentioned...Russia now has "drop box's" where unwanted babies are literally dropped off into incubator type units which are monitored by nurses etc. And of course the children then become the states responsibility

149 posted on 02/19/2012 4:01:09 PM PST by caww
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To: DNA.2012
I'd love to see a lot of fathers having full custody: raising the children and correspondingly covering the bills.

That's unrealistic DNA....most don't want the children and the few who do nobody's going to fight them having custody unless it's the mother, and even many of them are abondoning their children. I don't see many fathers stepping up to the plate at all.

However if legally... they fathered a child... and the laws were to state they HAD to assume custody and pay the piper we might also see fewer men willing to risk that.

150 posted on 02/19/2012 4:07:38 PM PST by caww
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To: DNA.2012
I am not sure if you think my statement about equal responsibility meant what you just said:

Putting an "equal responsibility" label on the current situation (woman gets custody of the kids, man pays for her to raise the kids) subsidizes illegitimacy and divorce: women can get the man's money without marriage to the man.

Because that is not at all what I meant. You seem to be playing the game of not clearly stating your position, and then objecting to what other people didn't actually say.

151 posted on 02/19/2012 4:09:00 PM PST by little jeremiah (We will have to go through hell to get out of hell)
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To: little jeremiah
goat granny and caww are referring to illicit sex outside of marriage that results in illegitimate children; not legitimate relations within marriage that result in children cared for by a mother and father married to each other!

Some people seem to be a little thick...but yes exactly that. And I still say that as long as sexual permissiveness, before marriage, is continually encouraged and supported there will always be the vast number of babies born to single parents...but I also believe that abortion, or better said the killing of babies, is going to continue to be an ongoing thing this nation is fast adjusting to as the "norm"....and in fact many are insisting so.

152 posted on 02/19/2012 4:14:26 PM PST by caww
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To: DNA.2012

fatherhood is a wonderful thing, how come we have so many single mothers?....for many men, its not marriage to legalize the situation but hey, she can get an abortion...You must be on the young side of 30 with your opinions...not meant as a insult just going by your opinions...and the law has cut fathers out of the situation. I wonder how many pregnant women men had proposed to to give the baby a legal name...I don’t totally blame the men, its how the femi-nazi want it, and some men find the idea fine with them.....after all, they must finish college and have their careers. Same goes for the females that choose to kill their babies...


153 posted on 02/19/2012 4:16:49 PM PST by goat granny
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To: DNA.2012; goat granny

Some men are upset and don’t want their unborn offspring aborted; others pressure their pregnant girlfriends or whatever into getting abortions, you have no idea how many articles about that I have read. Even physically strong arming the pregnant women into abortuaries. Eliminate abortion and then both dam and sire will have to take responsibility, which is the only solution.


154 posted on 02/19/2012 4:23:31 PM PST by little jeremiah (We will have to go through hell to get out of hell)
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To: caww

My tagline says what I think - I do think it’s going to get worse but not for long, because it just can’t get too much worse without utter collapse and chaos. I think people are going to wake up the fact that a society without morality is worse than animal life. At least animals follow their own nature. Humans are meant to live according to moral principles and we are seeing in living color what happens when moral principles are rejected publically and socially.


155 posted on 02/19/2012 4:28:08 PM PST by little jeremiah (We will have to go through hell to get out of hell)
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To: goat granny
I also think abortion on demand let the guys off the hook on having to marry the girl.

Abortion is the cause for a LOT of the problems.

I don't particularly like how a lot of the family structures are these days, but I'm not going to make a big deal out of it considering the alternative. If we put the old school stigma back, there will be a lot more abortions. Out of sight. Out of mind. Additional convenience for murder. How many people are murdered to reduce burdens, even without abortions. Too many. How many parents will push their daughters for abortions to avoid the stigma and embarrassment? Saving face is a powerful motivation. That's not even to mention the motivation by boyfriends. Some of them are ecstatic at being a dad. Others get out of dodge. Many of those who are looking forward to it eventually get married.

156 posted on 02/19/2012 4:28:25 PM PST by Darren McCarty (Rick Santorum in the primary)
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To: goat granny
It really is the same old story only now woman feel they have the right to life without the "Punishment" of a child. Yes that's what Obama stated...but that's how many woman today see it. He was only speaking what the mindset of today is.

I can easily see this nation opening up drop box's for babies and making abortion an acceptable option to unwanted babies. The sanctity of life has pretty much been snuffed out as evidenced by fathers and mothers even killing their children long after they're born.

As long as "life" is seen as something you can dispose of without consquences then this trajectory is not going to turn back to what once was. And additionally as long as their is only "lip service" paid to God then all bets are off...the trajectory is long past being stopped...the result of a child and what to do with remains the question...and those that life beyond the womb will be awarded to the state...and tax money will pay for them

157 posted on 02/19/2012 4:30:38 PM PST by caww
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To: caww

Your observations are excellent - there is no neat “solution” to the problem of slutdom and the resulting illegitimate children. The only real solution is for morality to be the cultural standard. Then society can deal with the very small number of illegitimate children. Until that time arrives, aiding and abetting illegitimacy with welfare and promotion of slutdom will continue. Until things financially/economically collapse so badly that the welfare dries up.


158 posted on 02/19/2012 4:33:42 PM PST by little jeremiah (We will have to go through hell to get out of hell)
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To: little jeremiah
the fact that a society without morality is worse than animal life. At least animals follow their own nature. Humans are meant to live according to moral principles and we are seeing in living color what happens when moral principles are rejected publicly and socially.

I agree Jeremiah....and "rejection" of those moral guidelines will continue for this society has learned how to ignore the warnings and justify their decisions. "Seared" conscious says it well.

Yes I agree it cannot go on much longer without chaos and a full breakdown of society....however I do think possible the Lord will return for his own before we see it to the fullest it will go. The only thing preventing a full collapse now are Christians taking a stand against it all.

159 posted on 02/19/2012 4:38:18 PM PST by caww
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To: caww

And yet one out of three pregnancies in America ends in abortion - a nation of murderers!


160 posted on 02/19/2012 4:48:39 PM PST by daniel1212 (Trust in the Lord Jesus to save you as a damned+morally destitute sinner ,+ be forgiven+live)
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