….our marriage culture started to fracture long before the current debates, and a recent article in the Economist nicely summarizes the consequences. With the decline in marriage \u201ccome rising out-of-wedlock-birthrates\u201d\u009d and \u201cwith illegitimate births come single-parent homes.\u201d\u009d The effects of single-parent homes (which in most instances mean fatherless homes) are well-documented and well-known: \u201cChildren brought up in such homes fare worse than children raised by married parents in a range of academic and emotional outcomes, from adolescent delinquency to dropping out of school.\u201d\u009d<\/p>\n
Regardless of how the dust settles at the end of the Supreme Court\u2019s term, the steady erosion of the American family will remain a significant and pressing concern in the coming years. But the ability of marriage, as a public institution, to address the issue will be further weakened if the court finally imbibes the arguments it dismissed in 1972.<\/p>\n