Shotgun wedding
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A shotgun wedding is a type of wedding which is arranged not because of the desire of the participants, but to avoid embarrassment due to an unintentional pregnancy. The phrase is an American colloquialism based on a supposed scenario (hyperbole) that the father of the pregnant daughter, almost by accepted custom, must resort to using coercive force (the shotgun) to ensure that the man who impregnated her goes through with the wedding.
The "shotgun wedding" has become simply an expression, referring to any hasty marriage arranged due to unplanned pregnancy. The use of violent coercion is no longer common. Often a couple will arrange a shotgun wedding without (spoken) outside encouragement.
The purpose is to get recourse from the male for the act of impregnation, ensuring that the mother and child are taken care of, and that social honour is restored to the mother. The practice is a method of preventing the birth of bastard children. In some societies the stigma attached to pregnancy out of wedlock can be enormous, and coercive means (in spite of the legal defense of undue influence) for gaining recourse are often seen as the prospective father-in-law's "right," and an important (albeit unconventional) coming of age event for the young father-to-be.
The phenomenon has become less common as the stigma associated with out-of-wedlock births has declined and the number of these births increased. Candice Bergen's character, Murphy Brown, in the sitcom Murphy Brown drew attention to this issue when Vice President Dan Quayle criticized such births, saying: "[i]t doesn't help matters when primetime TV has Murphy Brown—a character who supposedly epitomizes today's intelligent, highly paid, professional woman—mocking the importance of fathers, by bearing a child alone, and calling it just another 'lifestyle choice.'"
Sometimes a woman who marries while pregnant, regardless of the situation, is simply referred to as a shotgun bride.
