Roughly 24 million, or one-third of all American children under age 18, are living with an unmarried parent, according to a 2018 Pew Research Center analysis of US Census Bureau data. And 81% of those single parent homes are headed by a mom.

This has been a growing trend since the late 1960s. The number of kids being raised by mostly single moms has more than doubled between 1968 and 2017.

An online debate sparked by Missouri Democratic Congresswoman Cori Bush calling women "birthing people" has raged on into Mother's Day weekend.

On Thursday, Bush drew praise and criticism after she used the term "birthing people" to describe mothers during a speech in Congress.

"I sit before you today as a single mom, as a nurse, as an activist, congresswoman, and I am committed to doing the absolute most to protect Black mothers, to protect Black babies, to protect Black birthing people, and to save lives," she said.

This Mother’s Day, I would like to take a moment to congratulate all the moms who made this past year possible. Of course, I know it wasn’t just mothers. Fathers, guardians, caregivers and more made this possible, but Sunday is Mother’s Day so I would like to focus on the moms.

For many people, Mother’s Day may conjure up images of croissants, mimosas, and brunch on the second Sunday of May, but did you know this holiday can trace its origins back to anti-war efforts in the 1800s? Here’s the story of where American Mother’s Day began, how it evolved, and why its founder eventually came to disown it altogether.

Mother’s Day is still nearly a week away, but there are buds on the antique rambling rose that my mother rooted for me from her grandmother’s rose, and it will be in full bloom by Sunday, as it always is on Mother’s Day. My husband will make brunch. Our adult children will come over, and we’ll bring my husband’s 92-year-old father over, too, because he lives for family gatherings and has felt the loss of them more acutely than any of us. We’re all vaccinated now, but we won’t soon forget how it feels to be kept apart.

They all cry, naked in their grief.

One woman can't speak without weeping. Another said she didn't expect to get emotional, but when she begins to talk about her mother she asks for a moment to right herself under the unsteadying weight of loss. Another remembers the last time she saw her mom, separated by glass, anguish braiding the breath that catches in her throat.

For people who lost their mothers to COVID-19, this Mother's Day is a reminder of a freshly gaping void. Some won't celebrate the day at all. Others will mark it quietly.

If you are a parent like me, the last 14 months almost broke you.

This Abridge News topic aggregates four unique arguments on different sides of the debate. Here are the quick facts to get you started:

THE QUICK FACTS

President Trump offered praise for the nation’s moms in his annual Mother’s Day Proclamation, citing their “character, courage and compassion” — which he said spanned the generations.

“We celebrate the exceptional mothers in our lives. It is through the unwavering love, comfort, and guidance of these extraordinary women that we first learn to experience joy and the wonders of life. Whether they became mothers through birth, adoption, foster care, or other means, these women are deserving of our unending gratitude and praise this day and every day,” Mr. Trump said.