Planned Parenthood Of CA Opposes Bill Banning Child Marriage

Planned Parenthood of California, along with ACLU California Action and the National Center for Youth Law, are opposing a statewide bill that would ban marriages for children under the age of 18. California is one of four states that do not set a minimum age for marriage.

A 2021 study by the group Unchained At Last found that in 2021, more than 8,000 minors in California between 15 and 17 years old reported being married; the group later reported that in 2022, that number swelled to 9,000. “About 86% of these marriages involved underage girls marrying adult men, according to Unchained At Last’s 2021 study, Mercury News reported.

The bill, AB 2924, which was introduced by Assemblymember Cottie Petrie-Norris (D-Orange County), states, “This bill would repeal the authorization for a person under 18 years of age to be issued a marriage license or to establish a domestic partnership, thereby prohibiting a person under 18 years of age from being issued a marriage license or from establishing a domestic partnership.”

“We support what we believe are the intentions of the bill, to address the harms of coerced and abusive relationships on young people and protect them from abuse,” a letter from Planned Parenthood of California, ACLU California Action, and the National Center for Youth Law stated. “However, we also strongly believe in and support self-determination and bodily autonomy for all people, including young people who are pregnant and/or parenting.”

“Forced child marriage is a practice that strips children of their autonomy, sexual and reproductive freedom, forces them into adulthood prematurely and shields rapists from criminal charges — so I find opponents’ arguments a bit ironic and misplaced — particularly when they have supported the same legislation in other states,” Petrie-Norris declared.

Petrie-Norris withdrew the bill after Assemblymember Ash Kalra, the chair of the judiciary committee, proposed amendments that would forbid marriage under the age of 16 but allow the court petition process for 16- and 17-year-olds and emancipated minors, Petrie-Norris stated.

Contending that no exceptions should be made, Petrie-Norris said, “I have tremendous respect for the lived experience of the survivors and advocates who I was working with on this bill. After considering our options for this legislative session, I decided to pause the bill rather than move forward with a compromise proposal that they do not support.”

“This was a wildly popular bill,” Fraidy Reiss, the co-founder of Unchained At Last, stated, adding, “We realized there’s almost nothing we can do for someone who is not yet 18. The only thing we can do for them is change the law. … Child marriage destroys almost every aspect of a girl’s life.”