State House Unanimously Votes For Ban On Child Marriages In Pennsylvania

HARRISBURG, Pa. (CBS/AP) — A ban on Pennsylvania marriages when either party is under 18 is moving ahead with a unanimous vote in the state House of Representatives. State representatives voted 195-0 on Wednesday to send the proposal to the Senate.

Current state law allows those under 18 to marry if custodial parents or guardians agree, and under age 16 if a judge decides it's in the child's best interests.

"Our bill would repeal these exceptions and raise the minimum age at which a marriage license may be issued to 18 years of age. As marriage before the age of 18 can be coercive or exploitative and is highly likely to result in short- and long-term harm to a child, undermining his or her education, health, and economic opportunities and increasing the risk of experiencing violence, it is time to protect Pennsylvania's children and update the minimum marriage age," state Reps. Jesse Topper and Perry Warren said in the bill's memo.

Delaware became the first state to ban child marriages last year.

The bill's supporters say underage marriages are often coerced and linked to domestic violence and limits on educational and economic choices.

Warren, a Bucks County Democrat, says over the decade ending in 2010, more than 167,000 children in 38 states were married to people 18 or older. Nearly all were girls.

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