Possible Trump VP pick Ben Carson calls for ending no-fault divorce laws in new book

Carson said the current laws gives spouses an easy way to end their marriages without trying to fix the underlying problem.

Published: May 14, 2024 7:21pm

Former Republican presidential hopeful and possible Trump vice presidential pick Ben Carson called for an end to no-fault divorce laws in a book released Tuesday.

Every state currently has no-fault divorce laws, which allows divorces for “irreconcilable differences,” without having to prove any spousal misconduct like abuse or adultery. Several other conservative leaders have also called for an end to the laws, which they claim hurts the children in the families.

Carson said the current laws gives spouses an easy way to end their marriages without trying to fix the underlying problem.

"For the sake of families, we should enact legislation to remove or radically reduce incidences of no-fault divorce,” Carson wrote in his new book “The Perilous Fight," per NBC News. “The reason this matters is that no-fault divorce legally allows marriages to end much more quickly than in previous decades.

"When there are relatively few legal or financial consequences connected with divorce, it’s natural for people to gravitate toward that option when their marriage hits a rough patch,” he continues. “What those people often don’t consider, however, is the harm — both present and future — inflicted on their children once a divorce is finalized.”

Supporters of the law cite data that finds the laws reduce suicide among women, and domestic violence. Before the no-fault laws, divorces were rarely granted. The first no-fault law was signed by then-Gov. Ronald Reagan in California in 1969.

House Speaker Mike Johnson and another potential contender for former President Donald Trump's vice president, Sen. J.D. Vance, have also expressed support for making divorces harder to obtain.

Despite the speaker's and senator's support, no national movement to ban no-fault divorce laws has taken place. But on the state level, conservatives in Texas, Nebraska, and Oklahoma have called for their states to rescind the divorce laws. 

Misty Severi is an evening news reporter for Just the News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.

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