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75 A.B.A. J. 76 (1989)
Are Women Losing the Battle - No Fault Divorce

handle is hein.journals/abaj75 and id is 1386 raw text is: ARE WOMEN LOSING THE BATTLE? NO FAIKT BY THOMAS M. MULROY his year America marks the 20th anniversary of the passage of its first no-fault divorce law, which was enacted in California. Since that time, no-fault divorce laws have swept the country, generating a di- vorce revolution. Divorce rates have skyrocketed. Today, two young people exchanging vows for the first time have only a 50 50 chance of keeping them. If either of them has been married be- fore, the odds increase for a failed marriage. Of course, the question arises: Which is the chicken and which is the egg? Many proponents of no-fault accurately point out that the passage of these laws was a predictable out- growth of changing attitudes toward marriage and divorce. The '60s and early '70s were eras of marked departure from estab- lished notions about marriage. The feminist movement had a significant impact on traditional thinking as women sought the sexual freedom which they perceived men enjoyed. Pressure built to liberalize divorce Thomas M. Mulroy practices family law with Pillar and Mulroy, P.C. in Pittsburgh. laws and make them more equitable. Enlightened thinking dictated that divorce must employ modern concepts of justice and equality to make the divorce process as fair and equitable as possible. These basic standards were to apply: When a marriage fails, it is gen- erally no one's fault (thus the term no-fault) and no one should be blamed. A bad marriage is like a busi- ness deal gone bad and should be dealt with accordingly. Women and men are equals and should be 'treated as such. Divorce ought to leave people where it found them so they will suf fer no impediment in getting on with their lives. Gone would be the husband tied down to a wife who would not give him his freedom. Gone would be the woman left with nothing because her husband held his property in his name only. Feminist groups praised these long awaited developments. Before the passage of these laws, the status of women in divorce was a mixed blessing. On the one hand, women's legal rights were very lim- ited. If they had no legal, titled inter- est in property acquired during marriage, they stood to get nothing at the time of divorce. Alimony was 76 ABA JOURNAL / NOVEMBER 1989