Planned Parenthood opposes California’s child marriage ban to protect abortion access.
Planned Parenthood Opposes California’s Proposed Ban on Child Marriage
Advocates in California are urging lawmakers to take a stand against child marriage, but they are facing unexpected opposition from Planned Parenthood.
Currently, child marriage is legal in California, making it one of only two states, along with Mississippi, without set minimum ages, as reported by the Los Angeles Times.
This means that children of any age can potentially be married with the approval of their guardian and the court, often resulting in young girls being married to adult men.
While the age of consent in California is 18, this rule only applies to minors who are not married, according to the Times.
Planned Parenthood’s Surprising Stance
Typically, the fight to keep child marriages legal has been led by Republicans in other states. However, in California, the biggest opponent of child marriage bans seems to be Planned Parenthood, along with the Children’s Law Center and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU).
Planned Parenthood’s reasoning for opposing child marriage is somewhat vague. A spokesperson told the Times that while they “strongly support protecting youth from abuse of all kinds,” they believe that states should not interfere with the reproductive rights of minors and their ability to make decisions about their health and lives.
However, Fraidy Reiss, the founder and executive director of Unchained At Last (UAL), a nonprofit organization dedicated to ending forced and child marriages in the U.S., rejects Planned Parenthood’s assertion. Reiss argues that child marriages often result in forced sexual relations and the loss of sexual and reproductive rights for the survivors.
Reiss told Newsweek, “The idea that banning child marriage — a human rights abuse that destroys girls’ lives — might somehow undermine girls’ rights is preposterous.”
Underreported Cases and Alarming Statistics
The exact number of child marriages in California is unclear. While the Department of Public Health has recorded only 48 marriages involving minors since 2019, UAL estimates that over 8,000 children were married in the state in 2021.
Reiss suggests that this significant gap in numbers is evidence of underreporting of child marriage cases in California.
Nationwide, UAL estimates that nearly 300,000 minors were legally married between 2000 and 2018, with 23,588 of those marriages occurring in California, which has the second-highest number of child marriages after Texas.
According to their analysis, the average age of the married minors was 16 and 17, with some cases involving children as young as 10. The majority of the minors were female, and they were often married to adult men who were, on average, four years older than them.
Progress and Future Efforts
Delaware and New Jersey were the first states to set a minimum age requirement of 18 for marriage, followed by eight other states. Michigan recently joined them, becoming the latest state to ban child marriage. UAL is now urging California to follow suit.
In 2017, California lawmakers attempted to ban child marriages, but opposition from the ACLU, the Children’s Law Center, and Planned Parenthood resulted in regulations that did little to prohibit it. However, Democratic Assemblymember Cottie Petrie-Norris is expected to propose another ban next year, according to the Times.
Planned Parenthood’s opposition to the proposed ban on child marriage in California has sparked controversy and raised questions about the organization’s stance on protecting the rights and well-being of minors.
Source: The Western Journal
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