AN ARGUMENT AGAINST COHABITATION
P1. It is not in the child’s best interest if the mother and father have not publicly and formally committed to stay together
P2. Cohabiting couples have not publicly and formally committed to stay together
C. Therefore it is not in the child’s best interest if the mother and father are a cohabiting couple
CONSERVATIVE COMMENTARY
The percentage of children born outside of wedlock has been dramatically increasing since the 1960s. In 2018 the percentage of children born to parents who have not formally committed to staying together was more than 50% in 8 European countries.
There is an obvious trade-off between the rights of adults to sexual autonomy vs the rights of children to the relationship status of their parents. The more rights adults are given to sexual autonomy, the less rights children have to the relationship status of their parents.
EXTERNAL LINKS:
- Public Discourse – Suffer the Little Children: Cohabitation and the Abuse of America’s Children