Here is one example. Now, illegitimate births are higher now, but they were not as low as we like to think they were 200 years ago. This site suggest it was about 37% or so of first births were before marriage. There are many other sites with similar information on the net. Ran into this researching family history, when I noticed a lot of births before marriage.
For the shows, I remember Dr Quincy MD (also had a man getting a trans-gender surgery), some of the soaps my Mom watched (for some reason I think Falcon Crest, but since I never paid close attention I may be wrong). These would have been in the early 1980’s or so. General Hospital had a few episodes about it, as did a number of sit coms I can't remember the name of.
I do remember my Dad telling me about what abortion really was after one of those shows.
Thanks for your patience. Typing on a phone sucks.
I just rolled out of bed and haven't had coffee yet, but isn't your source saying that the illegitimacy rate was 2 to 4% in England in the late 1700s and that 37% of first pregnancies were 'conceived' before marriage? *"" For example, while only two to four percent of births in England in the late 1700s were illegitimate, thirty-seven percent of first births to a couple followed pre-marital conception.""*
Besides that isn't about the female marriage rate anyway.