Recent family-related news included a discrimination case brought by a gay couple whose child was denied US citizenship, reasons why some older couples prefer living apart, a look at “forced marriage”, the benefits of sleeping in a separate bed from your partner and the reasons behind the declining rate of marriage in Japan.
Gay U.S. Couple Sues State Dept. for Denying Their Baby Citizenship Sarah Mervosh, The New York Times, July 23, 2019 An American couple’s daughter, who was born abroad with the help of a surrogate, was denied citizenship. Her parents, two gay men, are suing for discrimination.The case centers on a State Department policy that affects children born abroad through assisted reproductive technology. The policy focuses on showing biological parentage in order to transmit citizenship. It has come under intense scrutiny for its effect on same-sex couples, who cannot conceive on their own and are often surprised that their children do not qualify for citizenship at birth.
More Older Couples Stay Together Because They Live Apart Clare Ansberry, Wall Street Journal, July 28, 2019 With the rise of “gray divorce,” and a doubling of the divorce rate for those 55 and older, there is a larger pool of single adults who may want a long-term partner, and want to make to it work without entangling finances or relationships with adult kids. It’s a “new frontier in partnered relationships,” says Susan Brown, a sociologist and co-director of the National Center for Family and Marriage Research at Bowling Green State University, in Ohio.
Princess Haya, Dubai ruler’s wife, seeks court order to prevent child’s forced marriage Ivana Kottasová, Livvy Doherty and Cristiana Moisescu, CNN, July 31, 2019 The sixth wife of the billionaire ruler of Dubai has applied to a London court for an order to prevent one of her children from being forced into marriage, news agencies reported…Under English law, a forced marriage protection order is intended to protect a person from marrying against their will, or to help someone already in a forced marriage, for example by preventing the person from being taken abroad.
Is It Time for a Sleep Divorce? Ivy Manners, The New York Times, July 31, 2019 “When both parties are getting a restorative night’s sleep it allows them to feel emotionally, mentally and physically healthier without one resentful of their partner for keeping them awake, nor the other feeling guilty for disturbing his or her mate,” said Jennifer Adams, the author of “Sleeping Apart Not Falling Apart” (Finch Publishing, 2015). “That’s a good foundation on which to build and weather a relationship.”
Craving Freedom, Japan’s Women Opt Out of Marriage Motoko Rich, The New York Times, August 3, 2019 … a growing number of Japanese women are postponing or forgoing marriage, rejecting the traditional path that leads to what many now regard as a life of domestic drudgery…Last year, the number of couples getting married hit the lowest level since the end of World War II, according to government estimates. It was the sixth straight year of decline in the nation’s marriage rate, which is falling at a much faster clip than the drop in Japan’s population over all.
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