[originaltext] After a generation of no-fault divorce in America, law-makers

After a generation of no-fault divorce in America, law-makers in some states are being asked to make it harder to end a marriage when one spouse does not want to call it off. Proposals in several states to make contested divorces harder to obtain are supported by conservative groups seeking to promote their concept of family values. These proposals would go back to, in contested cases, the old requirement that one spouse should show the other was "at fault", such as being unfaithful, abusive, a drug user or someone who deserts the marriage. That would be a big shift from current divorce laws.
    The no-fault divorce law has been enacted throughout America since California put the first one on the books in 1970. Under such laws, someone can get a divorce on grounds that the marriage has broken down without having to claim wrongdoing by the other spouse. No-fault divorces can be obtained even if one spouse does not agree to dissolve the marriage.
    However, many lawyers who specialize in divorce think returning to a fault requirement is a bad idea even though such a change might boost business for them. They think it would only intensify the bitterness of lawsuits and fighting and tearing apart of children that no-fault was initially designed to ease.
    So far limits on no-fault have been proposed in several states. Proposals in these states would let couples sign contracts making their marriages harder to dissolve and allow no-fault divorces for couples who agree to split up. Couples with children would have to go through counseling on the impact that divorce might have on a child.