Couples in the U.S. have had access to no-fault divorce for more than 50 years, an option that many call critical to supporting victims of domestic violence and critical to keeping already overcrowded family courts from drowning in complicated divorce proceedings.
But some women’s advocates became concerned when old comments from now Vice President-elect J.D. Vance circulated during the presidential campaign opposing no-fault divorce. And after President-elect Donald Trump and Vance won the election, warnings appeared on social media, urging women who might be considering divorce to “pull the trigger” while they still could. Some attorneys said they saw a spike in calls from women requesting divorce consultations.
Trump — who is twice divorced — is not in favor of overhauling the country’s divorce laws, but in 2021 Vance complained that divorce is too easy to access. Conservative podcasters and others have done that too.
“We’ve been running this experiment in real time and what we have is a lot of very, very real family disorders that are making our children unhappy,” Vance said during a speech at a Christian high school in California, where he criticized the fact that people ‘husbands to shift as if they were changing their underwear’.
Despite the concerns, even those who want to make divorces more difficult say they don’t expect big, rapid changes. There is no nationally coordinated effort. And states set their own divorce laws, so national leaders can’t change policy.
“Even in some of the so-called red states, it hasn’t accomplished anything,” said Beverly Willett, co-chair of the Coalition for Divorce Reform, whose group has tried unsuccessfully to get states to repeal their no-fault divorce laws. .
Mark A. Smith, a political science professor at the University of Washington, said that while many Americans have become accustomed to no-fault divorce being an option, Vance’s previous comments about making it more difficult to divorce their spouse could help to kick-start that effort. .
“Even though he’s not directly proposing a policy, it’s a topic that hasn’t had much discussion in the last 15 years,” Smith said. “And so it is remarkable that a politician with a national profile talks this way.”
Meanwhile, the Republican Party platforms in Texas and Nebraska were changed in 2022 to call for the abolition of no-fault divorce. The Republican Party of Louisiana considered something similar earlier this year but ultimately declined to do so.
A handful of proposals have been introduced in conservative-led statehouses over the years, but all stalled immediately after being introduced.
In January, Republican Senator Dusty Deevers of Oklahoma introduced legislation that would prevent married couples from filing for divorce on the grounds of incompatibility. Deevers supported the bill after writing a piece declaring that no-fault divorce was an “abolition of marital obligation.”
Similarly, in South Carolina, two Republican lawmakers introduced a bill in 2023 that would require both spouses to file for a no-fault divorce instead of just one. And in South Dakota, a Republican lawmaker has been trying to remove irreconcilable differences as grounds for divorce since 2020.
None of the sponsors of these bills responded to interview requests from The Associated Press. They are all members of their state’s conservative Freedom Caucus.
Alarms sounded
Still, some Democratic lawmakers say they remain concerned about the future of no-fault divorce. They point to the US The Supreme Court has struck down the constitutional right to abortion in 2022 as an example of a long-accepted option that was withdrawn after decades of effort.
“If you choose to remain silent, you are allowing this to creep in,” said South Dakota Democratic Rep. Linda Duba. “These are the bills that are gaining traction because you choose to remain silent.”
Before California became the first state to adopt a no-fault divorce option in 1969, married couples had to prove that their spouse had violated one of the approved “faults” outlined in their state’s divorce law or risk having a judge grant their divorce. deny it, said Joanna Grossman. , professor of law at Southern Methodist University in Dallas. Qualifying reasons varied from state to state but largely included infidelity, incarceration, or abandonment.
The system placed a particular burden on victims of domestic violence, often women, who could find themselves trapped in dangerous marriages while trying to prove their partner’s abuse in court through expensive and lengthy legal proceedings.
“(Even) if there was any evidence that the couple both wanted a divorce, it had to be denied because divorce was not something you got because you wanted it, it was something you got because there is an injustice against you in some way that the state considered important,” Grossman said.
“Extremely concerned”
So far, every state in the US has adopted a no-fault divorce option. However, 33 states still have a list of approved “faults” that can be filed as grounds for divorce – ranging from adultery to a misdemeanor conviction. In 17 states, married people only have the option of choosing a no-fault divorce to end their marriage.
Calls for no-fault divorce reform remained relatively quiet until the late 1990s, when concerns from former President George Bush’s administration about the nation’s divorce rate prompted a brief move by states to adopt “covenant marriages.” to take. The option did not replace the state’s no-fault divorce law, but provided an option for couples that carried counseling requirements and strict exceptions for divorce.
Louisiana was the first state to embrace covenant marriage options, but efforts largely stalled after Arizona and Arkansas followed suit.
Christian F. Nunes, president of the National Organization for Women, said she is “extremely concerned” about the possibility of no-fault divorce being abolished with the incoming Trump administration, Republican-controlled Congress and a wide range of conservative state leaders.
“With so many states focused on a misogynistic legislative agenda, this will further turn back the clock on women’s rights,” Nunes said in a statement. “This is why abolishing no-fault divorce is another way for the government to gain control over women, their bodies and their lives. Abolishing no-fault divorces is also a backdoor to banning same-sex marriage, because it implies that marriage is only between a man and a woman.”
With Trump’s re-election, Willett, whose group opposes no-fault divorce, said she is cautiously optimistic that the political tide could be turning.
“Was what he said an indication of things to come? I don’t know,” Willett said. “It’s a good thing, but it’s certainly not something that’s really been discussed outside of a few high-profile conservatives talking about it.”
