Is Marriage On Its Way Out?

More and more unmarried couples are having kids. Is it okay to start a family without being wed?

* Celebs like Catherine Zeta-Jones, Madonna, and Elle Macpherson have all recently had babies with their boyfriends before first walking down the aisle. In fact, a recent report from the National Center for Health Statistics showed that the birthrate among unmarried 20- to 29-year-olds has risen by 25 percent since 1988. So we asked Cosmo readers: Is it essential that men and women in steady relationships many before becoming parents?

Marriage Matters

"The arrival of a baby is a stressful event, no matter how well planned for it is. While married couples may not be more in love, they have entered into a moral and legal bond, which carries a certain amount of gravity. A baby needs that kind of stability and the new parents will need it too."

Francis, 29

"Having a child out of wedlock only sends the message that the pregnancy was an accident. It doesn't matter if that's not the case--unfortunately, that's how the world sees the event. Why should the baby have to grow up with that stigma?"

Lenore, 22