N.H. lawmaker calls teens ‘ripe and fertile’ in child marriage debate

Lawmakers in New Hampshire passed a bill that would ban child marriage Thursday, despite one lawmaker going viral for arguing that a “ripe, fertile” teen could be more likely to have an abortion due to the ban.

The measure passed 192-174 and will head to Gov. Chris Sununu’s desk to be signed into law.

Sununu first raised the marriage age to 16 in 2018 — up from 13 for girls and 14 for boys. State Rep. Cassandra Levesque said she’s been working for a decade to end child marriage in the Granite State.

“Many, many people have worked with me to fight to End Child Marriage in NH.  We have worked for years, researching, learning, listening, and advocating,” she wrote on X.” I will be forever grateful for them.”

Only 11 other states have banned child marriage without any exceptions. Connecticut, Delaware, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Washington have completely outlawed marriage before age 18, according to UNICEF.

Lawmaker refers to teens as “people who are of ripe, fertile age”

One lawmaker posed a question about the ban during a legislative session, captured in a viral video posted on X with more than 1.5 million views, asking if the ban would increase abortions among unmarried teenagers.

After State Rep. Jess Edwards referred to the minors involved as “ripe” and “fertile,” sounds of dissent can be heard from the crowd.

“If we continually restrict the freedom of marriage as a legitimate social option, when we do this to people who are of ripe, fertile age and may have 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 couple?” Edwards asked. 

Edwards said on Facebook on Tuesday that he filed a police report after receiving three death threats over his viral comments.

“Social media is weaponized. A democrat rep pointed it at me on Reddit and pulled the trigger,” Edwards wrote. “I accept responsibility for selecting a single inappropriate word on the House floor Thursday. The violent reaction isn’t proportionate though.”