Right-Wing Attacks on No-Fault Divorce – A Dangerous Reality for Women

Until the late 1960s, fault-based divorce perpetuated harm against American women by making it nearly impossible to legally divorce their husbands. Today, far-right politicians aligned with the goals of Project 2025, including Vice President JD Vance, want to return to that reality with their attacks on no-fault divorce.

In 1969, then-California Gov. Ronald Reagan became the first to sign the right to a no-fault divorce into state law. Until that point, one spouse had to prove “fault” in a court of law or produce a legitimate reason of a certain caliber, such as adultery, cruelty, or abandonment for seeking a divorce.

Often, a witness to the fault in question was required to testify. The list of legally recognized faults for divorce varied from state to state, with some states maintaining far shorter lists of valid faults than others. Sometimes, married couples would be forced to travel to a more moderate state in order to improve their chances of a successful separation – a method referred to as “divorce tourism.”

The fault-based divorce system dates back to colonial America, and while the state-mandated lists of valid faults grew longer and more lenient over time, judges still held the power to deny a couple their divorce for a number of reasons. For example, a judge could deny the divorce if he questioned the validity of the couple’s fault or otherwise suspected they had fabricated a reason for the divorce. In many situations, a couple may exhaust all their options and still find themselves legally unable to separate.

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