Articles on the Cause of the Rise in Single Parenting
What is causing the rise in single
parenting? There is a definite trend to show that this is happening.
The largest rise is in women in their mid thirties to early forties.
You cannot read a newspaper or search the internet
without running into articles on the cause of the rise in single
parenting.
There are many contributing factors in single parenting.
It is no longer a high divorce rate. The divorce rat in the US has
tapered off since the 1990's. The main factor is age and women know
their biological clock is ticking.
So when they reach their mid thirties they really
start thinking about having children, especially if they are single.
What do you do when you are forty and single and have no children?
There is a strong biological desire to reproduce – to have
children.
Furthermore, many cultures put additional pressures
on women without children. So feeling not only the biological pressures
but social pressure as well, many women opt for single parenthood.
Single women and parenthood does not come without
its problems.
Many societies frown upon a single woman having children. There
are definitely social, moral and religious issues that are raised
and these must be thought through very carefully.
Most major religions feel intimate relations between
a man and woman should only occur for the act of procreation. However,
there is the implication that this encounter should take place within
the confines of a marital relationship.
When a single woman uses a live donor instead of
a sperm bank many moral issues are raised. There are also potential
legal ramifications if the father is known and wishes to exert his
parental rights later on.
Contract or no contract, the question is does
the donor have moral and legal rights as a father. A sperm bank
donor is not without its complications either.
In Judaism, for example, if the mother is Jewish
and the donor is Jewish then the child is illegitimate by Jewish
law and cannot marry another Jewish person. There are also many
other complications with a sperm donor.
If the sperm from a single donor is used by more
than one woman, it is possible that siblings could marry without
knowing it.
This is not allowed legally in many locations
but it is also against the consanguinity laws of many religions
such as in Christianity and Judaism. It also raises many health
and ethical questions.
Reading articles on the cause of the rise in single
parenting will alert you to many of these issues. Are there
options for single parenting without having a biological child?
Yes, you can always adopt.
Adopting a child removes the moral and religious
stigma associated with having a child out of wedlock. The act of
adoption actually changes the whole perspective of single parenting
from one that is morally and ethnically questionable to one that
is honorable.
By adopting, you are helping a child
in need. There are many children who need a loving parent. After
reading all of the articles on the cause of the rise in single parenting,
if your biological clock is ticking, why not consider adoption.
References:
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3324371,00.html
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