The World Congress of Families expressed grave concern over a proposal pending in the
United Kingdom to give cohabiting couples many of the rights of married couples.
The government is expected to decide soon if it will endorse proposals of the Law Commission, which wants to grant many of those cohabitating the right to maintenance and a share in pension benefits when they separate. Partners are currently entitled to child support, but not maintenance (the equivalent of alimony).
There are 2.2 million cohabiting couples in Britain today. That number is expected to approach 3 million in little more than a decade.
World Congress of Families International Secretary Allan Carlson asked, “If the unmarried who are living-together have most of the benefits of marriage, family formation becomes less and less likely.”
Carlson continued: “Marriage is based on responsibilities and commitments. Why should individuals who are unwilling to make the commitment receive the benefits?”
Writing in the Daily Mail, British columnist Melanie Phillips rhetorically inquired: “Who killed off marriage in Britain? If future historians try to identify who was guilty of the deadly assault upon the bedrock institution of our society, the bloody trail will surely lead them straight to the legal profession.”
“Through court rulings and initiatives stretching back more than three decades, judges and lawyers have succeeded in reshaping family life in this country by progressively hollowing out the institution of marriage.”
Carlson added: “Many politicians and jurists fail to understand that when you take away the exclusive aspects of marriage, you inevitably weaken the institution. It’s not about equality for all living arrangements, but what’s best for children and society. The answer is traditional marriage.”
World Congress of Families is an international movement of pro-family organizations, leaders, activists, scholars and elected officials. World Congress of Families IV, held in Warsaw, May 11-13, 2007, was attended by 3,300 delegates from 64 nations.
For more information on World Congress of Families, go to
www.worldcongress.org. To schedule an interview with Allan Carlson, contact Larry Jacobs at 1-800-461-3113.