Half the state houses across the United States are considering a move to Shared Parenting as Lawmakers have filed bills in twenty five states. 

Support for a rebuttable presumption of shared parenting has been growing in recent years. After Arizona’s successful move to Shared Parenting in 2012 — attorneys now tell fathers they have a 90% chance their children will be awarded equal time with both parents, and Judges feel the new statue is working well—additional states have followed suit. As expected, language varies between bills, with some calling for 50/50 equal parenting and others calling for a minimum of 35% of the child’s time to be awarded to both parents with the remainder to be crafted according to family circumstances.

For decades, Republicans have preached they’re “Pro-Family”, espousing traditional marriage as best.  Emboldened by studies showing children fare best in intact families, and fearing the religious right, the message was simple: Marriage is best, so get married and stay married.  But those interested in public policy know, positions need to withstand three tests: they should be reviewed for effectiveness, be comprehensive and stand up to rigorous critique.  Republican policy fails all three.