Abstract
This article suggests that there have been two major changes in the pattern of development of lone motherhood since the Second World War. First there was a widespread separation of sex and marriage. The second shift has been more recent and arguably more radical, involving the separation of marriage and parenthood. Whereas the first set of changes was regarded with considerable optimism by commentators, the second has given rise to moral panic about lone motherhood. The result, we suggest, has been a recasting of family law, putting the emphasis on the responsibilities of parenthood rather than marriage.
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