March 2018 – The U.S. Senate released “Love, Marriage, and the Baby Carriage: The Rise in Unwed Childbearing,” a study that examined possible reasons why 40% of U.S. births occur out of wedlock. Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) shared the study online with a brief summary.
The study showed that in the early 1960s almost 43% of unwed pregnancies led to “shotgun” weddings, while the current number of such marriages stands at only 9%.
The report listed trends that contribute to those statistics, e.g., noting an increase in sexual activity outside marriage while fewer single pregnant women are choosing abortion.
