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Mandatory Marriage Counseling Prior to Divorce ? Oklahoma Considers Taking the Plunge

By Janet Langjahr

Oklahoma has the third highest divorce rate in the country.

More than half of all marriages there go by the boards.

In 2007, the state had over 28,000 marriages – and almost 19,000 divorces.

A lot of divorces for a state of reportedly regular churchgoers.

The high rate of divorce in Oklahoma is blamed on widespread poverty, teen pregnancy and early marriages.

In an effort to curb divorce, a conservative state legislator has sponsored legislation to require counseling both prior to marriage and prior to divorce.

Some oppose the legislation as too intrusive.

Others feel the social benefits of the legislation justify the intrusion. For example, divorce and childbirth by singles costs US taxpayers $112 billion per year.

The proposed legislation also includes an option for covenant marriage, in which couples agree upfront to premarital counseling and to restrictions on their own right to divorce.

Read more in this Associated Press article: Okla. conservatives debate divorce legislation.

Full post as published by Florida Divorce - Child Custody - Domestic Abuse Law on March 14, 2010 (boomark / email).