Dear Friend,
Some Pennsylvania lawmakers are pushing to dismantle long standing family protections, starting with a complete overhaul of our divorce laws. This shift threatens the fundamental building block of our state and society - the family unit. As attempts to weaken family bonds continue, we must ask: Are we moving in the right direction, or are we inverting the very foundations that hold our communities together?
Last Wednesday, I sat through a legislative hearing at the Capitol on a bill introduced by Rep. Kristine Howard (D-Chester), House Bill 2303. The stated goal of her legislation: to make it easier and "more efficient" to get a divorce. What she proposes is a complete repeal and replacement of Pennsylvania's divorce code. This is not progress.
Said Rep. Howard in the hearing, "Current law makes it substantially harder to end a marriage than any other contract, and exponentially more difficult than creating the contract in the first place."
Yes, and for good reasons!
Marriage transcends a mere legal contract. It's a sacred covenant uniting man and woman in mutual commitment, witnessed by God and community. This union forms the bedrock of family life, creating an unparalleled institution for nurturing and protecting children. History and research consistently show that a stable marriage provides the optimal environment for a child's health, education, and overall welfare. By preserving the sanctity of marriage, we safeguard society's most effective structure for raising the next generation.
Our current law at least reflects that goal. But now, House Bill 2303 removes this central policy statement from our divorce code: "The family is the basic unit in society, and the protection and preservation of the family is of paramount public concern." The bill would strike that section and replace it with what the sponsor says is a new, purportedly "modern" purpose: "It is the policy of the Commonwealth to: Create a more efficient and just process of marriage dissolution..."
It begs the question, "More efficient and just process for who?" The bill prioritizes convenience for the adults in divorces over family preservation, replacing the goal of reconciliation with mere "harm mitigation." It appears to sanction divorce regardless of the damage inflicted on spouses or children, and without encouraging efforts to resolve issues and restore relationships. Moreover, it strips away crucial safeguards in the current process—like waiting periods and counseling options—that provide opportunities for couples to reconsider and potentially save their marriages.
Research consistently reveals a clear pattern: marital satisfaction is highest among those who are religious, hold more traditional views of sex and gender, prioritize family life, and welcome children into stable unions.
Sociologist, author and Director of the National Marriage Project, Brad Wilcox, asserts that "Questions of marriage and family are better predictors of outcomes for people than the topics that currently dominate our public conversation."
In the early days of the Pennsylvania Family Institute, now spanning 35 years, Michael Geer and I focused on a crucial issue: the impact of no-fault divorce laws on families. We published two reports in the 1990s, first Breaking Up is Easy to Do, followed by Breaking Up is Hard on You. The reports shed light on how these laws affected both children and adults, revealing the far-reaching negative consequences of marital dissolution on society.
Although the mechanics of the divorce legal process have been changed with the nationwide adoption of no-fault divorce laws, the consequences of ending a marriage remain severe for both children and their parents. The negative consequences can last a lifetime. Three decades later, the divorce rates have changed, but the breakup of the family and its effects continue unabated.
