Linking abortion and cohabitation

The majority of women who do choose to get an abortion are unmarried. 83% of abortions are from unmarried mothers, this includes those in cohabiting unions. Married women are significantly less likely to choose to have an abortion. The main reasons that women state for getting an abortion is because of interference with personal responsibilities, can't afford child, and unsure of support or troubles with partner. Marriage greatly reduces all the these concerns. Marriage is has been shown to be the best place for raising children. It also increases the couples wealth. Married men earn an average of 20% more. And the commitment that marriage demands reduces the uncertainty of support from their partner.

Percent of women in each category
who get abortions 

familyfact.org (2013).The benefits of marriage. http://familyfacts.org/briefs/1/the-benefits-of-marriage 

familyfacts.org (2013). Women most likely to get abortions are poor, never married, have some college. http://familyfacts.org/charts/237/women-most-likely-to-get-abortions-are-poor-never-married-have-some-college

Infoplease. (2007). Abortion in the united states. Pearson Education Inc. http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0904509.html

Abortion information

This link has some great information on abortion 

http://familyfacts.org/search?q=abortion

Prevalence

Abortion:

• Abortions first become legalized in 1957 by The American Law Institute. But even before this many abortions took place.
• Currently there are 1.3 million abortions every year in America. Out of all abortions 84.3% of them are to unmarried women and 15.7% are to married women. 
• The majority of abortions, 57%, are preformed on women in their twenties. 
• Women who are poor and unmarried are the most likely to get an abortion. 

 

http://familyfacts.org/search?q=abortion

Cohabitation: 

• Cohabitation has been on the rise for the past five decades. With the sharpest increase within the last decade. In 2011 there were 7.599 million couples cohabiting in the United States compared to only 3.822 million in 2000.
• It is now considered an acceptable alternative lifestyle by many people, and is especially popular among the younger generations, less educated, and lower incomes.
•  About 60% of first marriage are proceeded by cohabitation.
•  And 40% of these unions have children. 

National Marriage Project. (2012). The state of our unions: marriage in america 2012. 

Effects of cohabitation on children and families

People are unaware of the negative effects that cohabitation has. Families living in these unions are more violent and more likely to divorce.

Cohabiting couples have less satisfaction than their married counterparts. Couples who just live together are five times more likely to break up than a married couple is (Heritage Foundation, 2013). Once a couple gets married they are still more likely to divorce if they cohabited beforehand. These couples also have less commitment since the back door is always opened, offering a way to get out at any time. This lack of commitment causes the couple to not work on their relationship. 

Since there is a higher chance of divorce in these unions children are more likely to experience the split of their parents. Two-thirds of these children will go through the breakup of their parents before they turn five. These children are more likely to have poor health and school performance, be abused, and live in poverty (Sheffield, 2012). 

One study showed that couples who cohabit have more destructive communication. They show more verbal aggression, are less supportive of one another, and they are more likely to avoid talking about problems and concerns (Cohan, 2002). 

Not only does cohabitation encourage couples to be less supportive of one another, they are also more isolated from the community and family. Once cause of this is the lack of commitment, but also the unclear social expectations, of how the parents and community are supposed to interact with the couple. Since the couples relationship is undefined so is their relationship with others. 

A traditional marriage is the safest place for women and children, and the most dangerous for children is when they are living with their mother and her boyfriend. Children are 20 times more likely to be abused when living with cohabiting biological parents, this increases to 33 times more likely when living with their mother and her boyfriend who is not the father. 

The mother is also more likely to be abused when living in a cohabiting union. Never married mothers are twice as likely to suffer domestic abuse from their partner (Fagan, 2004). 

Cohan, C. L., & Kleinbaum, S. (2002) Toward a greater understanding of the cohabitation effect: premarital cohabitation and marital communication. Journal of Marriage & Family, 64(1), 180-192. 

 Fagan, P. F., & Johnson, K. A. (2002). Marriage: the safest place for women and children. The Heritage Foundation.

Heritage Foundation. (2013). Cohabitation vs. marriage: how love’s choices shape life’s outcomes. Familyfacts.org

 Sheffield, R. (2012). One in four babies born to cohabitating women. The Heritage Foundation.

Types of Cohabitation

Cohabitation has been described as "one of the fastest growing family forms in the United States." (Duncan, 2004). It is also very popular in other countries, especially European countries. In the United States in 2011 there were 7.599 million couples cohabiting, and of all the couples currently living together 11.6% of them are unmarried. There are three main forms of cohabitation.

Part-time cohabitation- Also know as limited cohabitation. This is when a couple lives together for a short time with no plans for a long-term commitment. These unions are based on convenience, such as financial and sexual accessibility.
Premarital cohabitation- Is when the couple lives together in preparation for marriage. Many times these unions are considered a trial marriage. They start with the idea that living together will reduce a couples chance of divorce later on. When in reality the opposite is true.
Substitute marriage- This type of cohabitation is the most common among older couples. The couple decides to live together long-term without any plans for marriage.

Cavanaugh, J. C., & Blanchard-Fields, F. (2011). Adult development and aging 6th edition. California: Cengage Learning.  

Duncan, W. C. The social good of marriage and legal responses to non-marital cohabitation. 82 OregonLaw Review 1001. (2004) 

National Marriage Project. (2012). The state of our unions: marriage in america 2012. 

Cohabitation vs. Marriage

Many people say that it really doesn't matter if a couple cohabits because it is "just like marriage."
In fact we here statements all the time in favor of cohabitation. Such as "Marriage is just a piece of paper" and "How do you know you want to be married to them if you don't try it out."
However there are huge differences between marriage and cohabitation.
So now lets look at the differences:

• Cohabiters are less faithful than married couples.
• They are less willing to support each other financially and more likely to have separate bank accounts
• They interact with the community differently. Couples who cohabit are more social isolated and less involved in their communities. 
• They have less clear social expectations and obligations
• There is less commitment, and there are higher odds that the relationship will end
• And they are 3 times more likely to have violent arguments.

Waite, L. J., & Gallagher, M. The Case for Marriage. 2000. Doubleday publishing.

The Truth on Abortion