Cool! New Hampshire Republican Goes to Bat for Child Marriage, Says Teens Are ‘Ripe,’ ‘Fertile’
Welp, just go ahead and throw me into the sun already, please! A state representative said allowing pregnant minors to marry would make abortion less “desirable.”
Photos: Wikimedia Commons; NH House of Representatives Committee Streaming/YouTube Politics
Another week, another Republican state lawmaker caught proudly saying something disgusting—this time, though, the lawmaker killed two birds with one stone and was gross about both abortion and child marriage all in the same breath. In a video shared last week that’s since picked up steam, New Hampshire state Rep. Jess Edwards said that a bill to ban marriage for individuals under 18 would increase the demand for abortion. (??)
“If we continually restrict the freedom of marriage as a legitimate social option, when we do this to people who are of a ripe, fertile age and may have a pregnancy and a baby involved, are we not in fact making abortion a much more desirable alternative, when marriage might be the right solution for some freedom-loving couples?” Edwards, err, reasoned while speaking before the state House last week.
Under current state law, the minimum age for marriage is 16, but until 2018, 13-year-old girls and 14-year-old boys could marry with permission from a judge, which, ick. Thankfully, the bill ultimately passed on Thursday, and if signed, it will raise the minimum age for marriage to 18.
This is New Hampshire Republican State Rep Jess Edwards arguing in favor of child marriage this week and referring to girls as “ripe” and “fertile.”