Contact: Mike McManus, Marriage Savers, 301 469-5873, Mike@MarriageSavers.org.
MEDIA ADVISORY, July 30 /Christian Newswire/ -- Nine New York newspapers are publishing a column this week urging Gov. Paterson to veto a No Fault Divorce bill, which allows one spouse to unilaterally divorce a mate. It was passed by the state's Legislature -- the 50th state to do so. Mike McManus wrote the column as President of Marriage Savers, and author of How To Cut America's Divorce Rate in Half.
Ironically, the book's proposed solution is the current New York law that gives both spouses a voice on whether there is to be a divorce, unless one proves the other guilty of a major fault, such as adultery. Result: New York's divorce rate is nearly America's lowest, with only 52,000 divorces vs. 135,000 marriages, a 38.7% rate.
"By contrast, the divorce rate of neighboring New Jersey is 56%, and Connecticut, 60%.," McManus wrote. "It is reasonable to assume that New York's adoption of No Fault Divorce will push its divorce rate up to that of its neighbors, yielding 76,000 - 81,000 divorces annually."
"Thus, the New York Legislature voted for a 45% to 55% increase in the divorce rate!"
The Heritage Foundation estimated taxpayer cost of each divorce was $20,000 in 2004. With six more years, and New York's more generous welfare, Medicaid and other subsidies, the public is likely to pay $25,000 each. "If the state's divorce rate rises to that of Connecticut, those 29,000 added divorces could cost taxpayers an additional $725 million.
"With a budget deficit of $8.5 billion, Gov. Paterson should veto the bill explaining that New York cannot afford to add hundreds of millions to its current deficit. He should also outline the social costs...Divorced people live shorter lives: men, ten years less; women and children, four years less. Children of divorce also are three times as likely as those from intact homes to become pregnant as teenagers or to be expelled from school, are five to six times as apt to live in poverty or to commit suicide, and three times as likely to be incarcerated," McManus wrote.
The law should encourage couples to work out their differences, as New York present law demonstrates.
The papers publishing the column: Rochester Democrat & Chronicle, Utica Observer-Dispatch, Poughkeepsie Journal, Middletown Times-Herald Record, The Ithaca Journal, Jamestown Post-Journal, Elmira Star-Gazette, Binghamton Press, Corning's The Leader.
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