No-fault divorce advocates start to fret as talk of banning it begins to bubble up
Married couples across the United States have had the option of no-fault divorce for more than 50 years, and many consider the option critical to supporting victims of domestic violence and preventing already crowded family courts from becoming bogged down in complex divorce proceedings.
But some women’s rights advocates are concerned because Vice President-elect J.D. Vance spoke out against no-fault divorce during the presidential campaign. After President-elect Donald Trump and Vance won the election, warnings began appearing on social media urging women who might be considering divorce to “pull the trigger” while they still could. Some lawyers posted that they had seen a surge in calls from women seeking divorce advice.
Trump, who has been divorced twice, has not supported an overhaul of the country’s divorce laws, but Vance lamented in 2021 that it was too easy. Conservative podcasters and others thought the same thing.
“We ran this experiment in real time, and what we encountered was a lot of very, very real family dysfunction that was making our kids unhappy,” Vance said in a speech at a Christian high school in California. “Like changing underwear. Just like changing spouses.”
Despite concerns, even those who want to make divorce more difficult say they don’t expect big, rapid changes. No coordinated national action is currently underway. States set their own divorce laws, so national leaders cannot change policy.
“Even in some so-called red states, it’s not getting anywhere,” said Beverly Willett, co-chair of the Divorce Reform Coalition, which has tried unsuccessfully to get states to repeal no-fault divorce laws. .
Mark A. Smith, a professor of political science at the University of Washington, said that while many Americans have become accustomed to no-fault divorce as an option, Vance’s previous comments about making it harder to separate from a spouse may help advance that effort.
“Even though he didn’t directly propose a policy, it’s a topic that hasn’t generated much discussion in the past 15 years,” Smith said. “So it’s notable that a nationally known politician spoke in this way. ”
Meanwhile, Republican platforms in Texas and Nebraska were revised in 2022 to call for the elimination of no-fault divorce. The Louisiana Republican Party considered something similar earlier this year but ultimately declined to do so.
Conservative-led statehouses have introduced proposals over the years, but all stalled immediately after being submitted.
In January, Oklahoma Republican Sen. Dusty DeVos introduced legislation that would ban married couples from filing for divorce on the basis of incompatibility. Deavers supported the bill after writing an article declaring that no-fault divorce is “the abrogation of marital obligations.”
Likewise, in South Carolina, two Republican lawmakers introduced a bill in 2023 that would require both spouses to file for no-fault divorce, rather than just one. In South Dakota, a Republican lawmaker has been trying since 2020 to eliminate irreconcilable differences as grounds for divorce.
None of the bill’s sponsors responded to requests for interviews from The Associated Press. They are both members of the state’s conservative Freedom Caucus.
alarm sounds
Still, some Democratic lawmakers say they remain concerned about the future of no-fault divorce. They pointed the finger at the United States Supreme Court strikes down constitutional right to abortion In 2022, this is an example of a long-accepted option being revoked through decades of effort.
“When you choose to remain silent, you allow this to spread,” said Democratic Rep. Linda Duba of South Dakota. “These bills stand because you choose to remain silent.”
Joanna Grossman says before California became the first state to adopt a no-fault divorce option in 1969, married couples had to prove their spouse violated an approved “fault” specified in the state’s divorce law 1, otherwise the judge will risk denying the divorce. Professor of Law at Southern Methodist University in Dallas. Qualifying grounds vary by state, but primarily include infidelity, imprisonment, or abandonment.
The system places a particular burden on victims of domestic violence, often women, who can become trapped in dangerous marriages while trying to prove their partners’ abuse in court through costly and lengthy legal proceedings.
“(Even if) there is any evidence that both the couple want a divorce, that should be denied because the divorce is not what you want but because you have been wronged in some way. The state considers that important,” Ge said. Rothman said.
“Very worried”
To date, every state in the United States has adopted the no-fault divorce option. Yet 33 states still have an approved list of “faults” that can serve as grounds for divorce — ranging from adultery to felony convictions. In 17 states, married people can only choose no-fault divorce to end their marriage.
Calls for reforming no-fault divorce were relatively silent until the late 1990s, when former President George W. Bush’s administration’s concerns about the nation’s divorce rate sparked a brief movement in states to adopt “contract marriages.” This option does not replace state no-fault divorce laws but provides an option for couples with counseling requirements and strict divorce exceptions.
Louisiana was the first state to embrace the covenant marriage option, but the effort largely stalled after Arizona and Arkansas followed suit.
Christian F. Nunes, president of the National Organization for Women, said she was “extremely concerned” that with the incoming Trump administration, a Republican-controlled Congress and a broad range of conservative state leaders, no fault of The possibility of divorce is eliminated.
“With so many states focused on misogynistic legislative agendas, it will further push women’s rights backsliding,” Nunes said in a statement. “That’s why eliminating ‘no-fault’ divorce is government control Women, their bodies and their lives. Eliminating no-fault divorce is also a backdoor way to eliminate same-sex marriage because it means marriage is only between a man and a woman.”
With Trump re-elected, Willett, whose group opposes no-fault divorce, said she is cautiously optimistic that the political tide may change.
“Was what he said a sign of what was to come? I don’t know,” Willett said. “That’s a good thing, but it’s certainly not really discussed except for a few high-profile conservatives talking about it.”
