Single women have been in the news a lot lately, thanks in part to the short but microscopically examined Supreme Court candidacy of Harriet Miers. It was interesting to see the speculation running rampant about her personal life, since she has never married.

As TV host Bill Maher noted, "Undefined sexuality in women makes (Republicans) nervous." And she would have been the second Bush spinster to vault to the big time -- after Condi Rice. But between her bachelorette status and her legal views there were too many unknowns, so she was toast.

Soon afterward, a news story hit the wires that a record 1.5 million babies were born to unmarried women in the United States last year, 35.7 percent of all births in the country. (One can only imagine the gnashing of teeth over at the Traditional Values Coalition office.) The unmarried-birth rate didn't go up by much -- from 1.4 million the year before. But what was interesting was where the increase came from.

Thankfully, not from teenagers. According to the National Center for Health Statistics, the birthrate for unmarried teens continues on a general decline: Last year teens accounted for just 24 percent of unwed births, down from 50 percent in 1970.

In fact, the biggest increase -- a hefty 9 percent -- in the number of unmarried births occurred among women ages 45 to 49. Astonishing, considering that 30 years ago almost no one in that age group had babies at all, let alone without being married. Such is the career-mad, marriage-ain't-required mind-set these days. Women were once considered old maids and out to pasture if they weren't married and mothers before 40; this generation is turning that paradigm on its ear.

But we should never take such changes for granted. Single women and gays recently dodged a legislative bullet in Indiana that was so ludicrous it's almost not worth reporting -- except that such proposed laws are bound to pop up with increasing frequency in coming years.

Under legislation proposed by Indiana state Sen. Patricia Miller, R-Indianapolis, gay couples and single women would be prohibited from using reproductive technology such as in-vitro fertilization to conceive a child. The senator implied in comments to reporters that the ultimate goal of the bill was to limit baby making to married heterosexual couples. An additional clause of the bill would have required couples who want to use donor eggs or sperm to apply for an intent-to-reproduce permit, fill out a "family lifestyle" questionnaire and describe their participation in "faith-based activities."

Miller, who evidently skipped the separation of church and state lecture in her high school civics class, argued that single-parent families aren't as healthy for kids as families with both a mother and a father. Opponents from every political spectrum launched an attack that culminated with her quietly withdrawing the bill. Stay tuned -- and vigilant -- I'm sure that somewhere in the country a legislator is scratching his chin and thinking, "Great idea!"

But if single women are experiencing a bumpy ride as the country's shift to the right plays out, at least they're happier than their male counterparts. Well, in England, anyway.

A survey in that country (which loves both its surveys and its single people) shows that unmarried women living alone are happier than men in the same circumstance. The Unilever Family Report 2005, which questioned 1,142 people ages 25 to 44, found that men generally found living alone harder than women, and were less likely to say it was their choice.

Researchers concluded that this might be because women are more likely to see friends and family frequently, as compared with men. The study also found that while 64 percent of women thought it was good to have their own place before settling down, only 48 percent of men thought so. Fifty-six percent of men said they were sometimes lonely, compared with only 48 percent of women.

France also has something to offer the unmarried gal: a holiday all her own. It's St. Catherine's Day, and it's coming up on Nov. 25, so get your single girlfriends together to plan a party. And don't forget the hats.

In that country and others in Europe, on St. Catherine's Day the custom is for unmarried women older than 25 -- called "Catherinettes" in France -- to pray for husbands. (Eek, what if the prayers worked? Could we pray for just a hot new man instead?) Catherinettes send postcards to each other, and their married friends make showy, nutty hats for them to wear -- often using the traditional colors of yellow (faith) and green (wisdom). Catherinettes are supposed to wear their hats all day long, and French milliners have big parades to show off their wares.

Often called Japan's Bridget Jones, Sayako will marry a 39-year-old urban planner who still lives with his mother. But before you say "Aww, how romantic," consider the downside. Because her swain is a commoner, the princess must relinquish her royal title and become a middle-class woman. This means she has to undertake some pretty middle-class things -- like driving lessons and learning to cook. And, she has said, she will suspend her research work in ornithology after she marries.

"Frankly, I felt happy for her but at the same time shocked," a 35-year-old Tokyo career woman told the Associated Press. "An important figure among us -- only a few remain among my contemporaries -- is going to get married finally. She was our last stronghold."

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