Out-of-wedlock birth rates increase in recent years

According to data from the Indiana State Department of Health, by 2005, the out-of-wedlock birth rate in Indiana was 40.1 percent, a 69 percent increase since 2000. \nIf this trend persists, it could eat away at Indiana’s social foundation and potentially target Indiana taxpayers, said Bill Stanczykiewicz, chief executive officer of the Indiana \nYouth Institute.\n“Children born into single-parent families face decreasing chances for stability during childhood and self-sufficiency as adults,” Stanczykiewicz said. \nAccording to Child Trends, a social science research institute, children born to unmarried mothers are disadvantaged compared to children who grow up with both biological parents. Child Trends contends that these children are more likely to be poor, experience inconsistent living arrangements and have lower educational attainment. Additionally, they are more likely to have their own children out \nof wedlock.\nAlso, children born out of wedlock are more likely to experience poverty, \nStanczykiewicz said.\n“The fastest way for a child to go into poverty is to be born into single-parent households,” Stanczykiewicz said. \nA major point of interest is also the age group of the parents. Teen pregnancy in the state of Indiana is decreasing and has been steadily since 1995. However, according to the State Department of Health, 59 percent of the births to mothers ages 20 to 24 were out of wedlock. \nChild Trends attributed this rise of out-of-wedlock births to the increase in cohabitation among younger couples. More than half (52 percent) of out-of-wedlock pregnancies in 2001 occurred in cohabitating households. However, according to Child Trends, the fragility of cohabitating couples results in a much higher chance of the family breaking up, as less than half of cohabitating relationships last more than five years. Even remarriage does not offer the same stability for a child as marriage between biological parents.\nOf the children who are born to cohabitating couples, more than half of those pregnancies are unplanned. However, IU senior Kurt Bennett said he thinks the statistics are nothing new.\n“(Unplanned pregnancies and out-of-wedlock births have) always been a problem, its just more documented now,”\nBennett said.\nOthers argue that it is a matter of economic concern and the state should provide assistance to those who need it. \nDaniel Eylath, a sophomore, said there should be “more funding to make resources readily and obviously available so women in dire need can get it.” \nRegardless of what an individual thinks is an appropriate way to handle the increase in out-of-wedlock births, this is an issue that “is at the foundation of the state’s social ailments” because it can lead to issues such as welfare allocation, Stanczykiewicz said.\nIncreasing non-marital birthrates “can only erode the social foundation if you let it,” Eylath said.