| A frustrating lack of permanence plagues modern | | | | improved birth control methods and a longer life |
| relationships. Approximately one of every two | | | | expectancy. All these factors contribute to our |
| marriages ends in divorce and the average length of | | | | alarming divorce rate.Is it any wonder the state ( |
| a marriage before divorce is only five years. Many | | | | literally, the state you live in and as, generically, any |
| couples today chose cohabitation over traditional | | | | form of government) must pass laws that affect our |
| marriage. What happened to the idealized family | | | | personal relationships as we struggle for |
| depicted in Father Knows Best, Leave it To Beaver, | | | | answers?You can take opposing views of the laws in |
| The Donna Reed Show and Ozzie and Harriet?No | | | | our country. One argument is that they protect |
| simple answer exists to this question: our intimate | | | | society and its members, but the flip side contends |
| relationships have been affected by the | | | | they are a means of oppression. The laws that |
| industrialization of society, urbanization, continued | | | | impact our intimate relationships are not necessarily |
| changes in the traditional roles of the sexes and | | | | harmful or intrusive in and of themselves. However, |
| greater economic independence for women, a rise in | | | | forming a relationship without a working knowledge |
| the percentage of the population pursuing a college | | | | of these laws and without considering all the |
| education, a lessening of social pressure against | | | | ramifications can lead to situations where the end |
| couples who cohabit, the recognition of legal rights | | | | result is both. |
| for llegitimate children, a decreasing birth rate, | | | | |