Skip to content Skip to search

Republish This Story

* Please read before republishing *

We’re happy to make this story available to republish for free under an Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives Creative Commons license as long as you follow our republishing guidelines, which require that you credit The 19th and retain our pixel. See our full guidelines for more information.

To republish, simply copy the HTML at right, which includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline and credit to The 19th. Have questions? Please email [email protected].

— The Editors

Loading...

Modal Gallery

/
Sign up for our newsletter

Menu

  • Our Mission
  • Our Team
  • Latest Stories
  • Search
  • Upcoming Events
  • Contact Us
  • Newsletter
  • Donate
  • Work With Us
  • Fellowships
    • From the Collection

      Changing Child Care

      Illustration of a woman feeding a baby a bottle
      • 1 in 4 parents report being fired for work interruptions due to child care breakdowns

        Chabeli Carrazana · February 2
      • Washington, D.C., offers financial relief to local child care workers

        Orion Rummler · September 20
      • As climate change worsens hurricane season in Louisiana, doulas are ensuring parents can safely feed their babies

        Jessica Kutz · May 5
    • From the Collection

      Next-Gen GOP

      Illustration of a woman riding an elephant
      • Mayra Flores’ victory set a record for women in Congress. It also reflects the growing visibility of Republican Latinas

        Candice Norwood · June 21
      • A banner year for Republican women

        Amanda Becker · November 11
      • Republican women could double representation in the U.S. House

        Amanda Becker · November 4
    • From the Collection

      On The Rise

      Illustration of three women marching
      • Can Cheri Beasley build a winning coalition in North Carolina?

        Candice Norwood · October 11
      • Los Angeles has never elected a woman mayor. Karen Bass hopes to change that.

        Nadra Nittle · September 8
      • Judge J. Michelle Childs is confirmed to D.C. appeals court

        Candice Norwood · July 20
    • From the Collection

      Pandemic Within a Pandemic

      Illustration of four people marching for Black Lives Matter with coronavirus as the backdrop
      • Some LGBTQ+ people worry that the COVID-19 vaccine will affect HIV medication. It won’t.

        Orion Rummler · November 23
      • Why are more men dying from COVID? It’s a complicated story of nature vs. nurture, researchers say

        Mariel Padilla · September 22
      • Few incarcerated women were released during COVID. The ones who remain have struggled.

        Candice Norwood · August 17
    • From the Collection

      Portraits of a Pandemic

      Illustration of a woman wearing a mask and holding up the coronavirus
      • For family caregivers, COVID is a mental health crisis in the making

        Shefali Luthra · October 8
      • A new database tracks COVID-19’s effects on sex and gender

        Shefali Luthra · September 15
      • Pregnant in a pandemic: The 'perfect storm for a crisis'

        Shefali Luthra · August 25
    • From the Collection

      The 19th Explains

      People walking from many articles to one article where they can get the context they need on an issue.
      • The 19th Explains: What we know about Brittney Griner’s case and what it took to get her home

        Candice Norwood, Katherine Gilyard · December 8
      • The 19th Explains: Why the Respect for Marriage Act doesn’t codify same-sex marriage rights

        Kate Sosin · December 8
      • The 19th Explains: Why baby formula is still hard to find months after the shortage

        Mariel Padilla · December 1
    • From the Collection

      The Electability Myth

      Illustration of three women speaking at podiums
      • Mayra Flores’ victory set a record for women in Congress. It also reflects the growing visibility of Republican Latinas

        Candice Norwood · June 21
      • Stepping in after tragedy: How political wives became widow lawmakers

        Mariel Padilla · May 24
      • Do term limits help women candidates? New York could be a new testing ground

        Barbara Rodriguez · January 11
    • From the Collection

      The Impact of Aging

      A number of older people walking down a path of information.
      • From ballroom dancing to bloodshed, the older AAPI community grapples with gun control

        Nadra Nittle, Mariel Padilla · January 27
      • 'I'm planning on working until the day I die': Older women voters are worried about the future

        Mariel Padilla · June 3
      • Climate change is forcing care workers to act as first responders

        Jessica Kutz · May 31
    • From the Collection

      Voting Rights

      A series of hands reaching for ballots.
      • Election workers believe in our system — and want everyone else to, too

        Barbara Rodriguez, Jennifer Gerson · November 8
      • Voter ID laws stand between transgender people, women and the ballot box

        Barbara Rodriguez · October 14
      • Emily’s List expands focus on diverse candidates and voting rights ahead of midterm elections

        Errin Haines · August 30

    View all collections

  • Explore by Topic

    • 19th Polling
    • Abortion
    • Business & Economy
    • Caregiving
    • Coronavirus
    • Education
    • Election 2020
    • Election 2022
    • Environment & Climate
    • Health
    • Immigration
    • Inside The 19th
    • Justice
    • LGBTQ+
    • Politics
    • Press Release
    • Race
    • Sports
    • Technology

    View All Topics

Home
  • Our Mission
  • Our Team
  • Latest Stories
  • Search
  • Upcoming Events
  • Contact Us
  • Newsletter
  • Donate
  • Work With Us
  • Fellowships

We’re an independent, nonprofit newsroom reporting on gender, politics and policy. Read our story.

The 19th News(letter)

News from reporters who represent you and your communities.

You have been subscribed!

Submitting...

Uh-oh! Something went wrong. Please try again later.

Become a member

The 19th thanks our sponsors. Become one.

illustration of two figures turning their backs on each other.
(Getty Images)

Politics

In Mississippi, another push to ease restrictions on divorce

The change would make things easier for someone trying to end a marriage against their partner’s wishes in Mississippi.

Mariel Padilla

General Assignment Reporter

Mariel Padilla portrait

Published

2022-02-23 06:00
6:00
February 23, 2022
am

Share

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Email

A new bill in Mississippi would add a new  pathway for people seeking divorce that experts say could help change a system that disproportionately harms women. 

Although all 50 states have adopted no-fault divorce laws, Mississippi is one of two states — South Dakota is the other — that does not have unilateral no-fault divorce, meaning parties must jointly agree to the conditions of the split. If a couple cannot agree, the spouse seeking the divorce must file on a fault ground by proving their “innocence” and their partner’s “guilt.” 

Mississippi has 12 grounds for divorce, including adultery, a prison sentence, incest and an “incurable mental illness.”

The 19th thanks our sponsors. Become one.

State lawmakers are trying to add a new option, one that would make things easier for someone trying to end a marriage against their partner’s wishes. A bill that passed the Mississippi Senate last week, would add “irretrievable breakdown of the marriage” as another reason for divorce. The proposed legislation would authorize the court to grant a divorce when either party proves “further attempts at reconciliation are impractical or futile.” 

The bill’s author, Sen. Brice Wiggins, did not respond to requests for comment before publication. The legislation now awaits a vote in the House.

Attempts to update Mississippi’s divorce laws — largely unchanged for more than a century — have been futile in the past. Conservative lawmakers and religious lobbyists have repeatedly blocked similar divorce reform bills, citing efforts to strengthen the American family and uphold the sanctity of marriage.  

Stories by experienced reporters you can trust and relate to.

Delivered directly to your inbox every weekday.

You have been subscribed!

Submitting…

Uh-oh! Something went wrong. Please try again later.

Proponents of the new divorce bill argue the current system can lead to costly, drawn-out proceedings that could keep victims of domestic abuse in dangerous situations. Opponents argue that divorce harms the children involved and that lowering barriers would increase overall divorce rates.

Wiggins, a Republican, introduced the bill based on recommendations from a 2021 task force — composed of judges, attorneys, child advocates and law professors — that studied Mississippi’s domestic relations laws.  Troy Odom, a chancery judge who chaired the task force, relayed the group’s recommendations to add additional grounds for divorce. 

“We don’t want to preserve dead marriages,” Odom told a state Senate committee when he delivered the report last month. “We don’t want marriages to take place just in name because what you’re seeing is a long separation from two individuals who are still married but completely incompatible.” 

Vivian Hamilton, a law professor at the College of William and Mary, argued that the measure of marriage stability is dictated less by a state’s divorce laws and more by the characteristics of the married couples. Couples who are older, more educated and have more income when they get married are far more likely to stay together, she said.

“A heightened barrier to divorce does little to ensure the health and sanctity of a marriage,” Hamilton said. “Instead, it puts barriers for individuals who are more vulnerable and who have fewer resources available to them to find alternatives.”

In 1969, Ronald Reagan, then-governor of California, signed the country’s first no-fault divorce bill. Other states soon followed. The divorce rate doubled between 1965 and 1975 and continued to rise until the early ‘80s — a period some scholars refer to as the “Divorce Revolution.” 

New York became the last state to enact a no-fault divorce law in 2010. As in most other states, a marriage there can now be severed if just one party seeks a divorce on those grounds. 

The question remains whether Mississippi will soon allow for that, too.

Some research shows that laws that make it easier to divorce can have a profound positive impact on women and children. When divorce is more attainable, the number of marriages has been known to increase, suicides and reports of domestic violence decrease and women gain economic power through income. In addition, expanded alimony and child support for divorced mothers often goes toward children’s education. 

David Spratt, a professor at American University’s Washington College of Law, said Mississippi’s current law almost always disadvantages the lower-earning spouse, which is usually a woman. 

The need for two-party agreement, he said, “can force a spouse who is already under the financial and emotional control of the other spouse — and sometimes a victim of domestic abuse — to remain in a dangerous and untenable situation.” 

Galena Rhoades, a psychology professor at the University of Denver, said she supported the new bill but argued that more still needs to be done to protect victims of abuse. 

“It’s less about the state law and more about the culture in an individual court,” Rhoades said. “What I mean is that courts and judges vary by counties and so much is left to individual judges, especially when it comes to adjudicating parental responsibilities … There really aren’t enough legal protections available to protect women, especially in domestic violence cases.” 

Share

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Email

Help sustain what we started

Your monthly investment is critical to our sustainability as a nonprofit newsroom.

Donate Today

Become a member

Up Next

Caregivers smile and applaud during a rally.

Politics

Biden administration signals continued commitment to home care after Build Back Better stall

Secretary Xavier Becerra met with leaders in disability, aging and labor to assure them that the Biden administration has not forgotten about them.

Read the Story

The 19th
The 19th is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization. Our stories are free to republish in accordance with these guidelines.

  • Donate
  • Newsletter
  • Events
  • Search
  • Jobs
  • Fellowships
  • Contact Us
  • About Us
  • Community Guidelines
  • Membership
  • Membership FAQ
  • Major Gifts
  • Sponsorship
  • Privacy
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Instagram