Child Marriage Persists in U.S. Despite Growing Opposition

Child marriage remains a legal reality in a significant number of U.S. states, despite increasing advocacy for reform. Currently, thirty-four states allow individuals under the age of 18 to marry, often with parental or judicial consent. Alarmingly, four states—California, Mississippi, New Mexico, and Oklahoma—impose no minimum age for marriage, leading to troubling implications for minors, particularly young girls.

According to a report from the nonprofit organizations Unchained at Last and Equality Now, over 314,000 marriages involving minors have been registered in the U.S. during the past two decades. A striking 80 percent of these marriages involved girls who were underage, with some as young as ten years old. Most of these unions were to adult men, raising serious concerns about exploitation and abuse. The report highlights that more than 60,000 of these marriages occurred when the minor was not legally able to consent to sexual relations with their spouse.

The findings reveal a disturbing trend where laws permitting child marriage may serve as a facade for sexual abuse. “Child marriage strips children of their bodily autonomy and freedom,” the report states. It further notes that such practices legitimize statutory rape and expose minors to coercion.

Advocates argue that the U.S. has both a moral and legal responsibility to eliminate such practices. “We’ve had to go state by state in all our advocacy work, and we can’t just impose a federal ban on child marriage,” explained Anastasia Law, North American program officer at Equality Now. Law emphasized that the fragmented nature of state laws complicates efforts to effect meaningful change.

The United States stands out as one of the few nations that does not explicitly guarantee gender equality in its constitution, according to Law. She noted that enshrining such protections could pave the way for a federal ban on child marriage, as well as comprehensive abortion rights.

Efforts to address child marriage at the federal level have seen limited success. Most recently, Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) introduced the “Child Marriage Prevention Act,” which ultimately failed to advance in the Senate. Critics of the bill pointed to its allowance for underage fiancé and spousal visas as problematic. Durbin described child marriage as a “scourge” that requires decisive government action.

Despite public support for restrictions on child marriage, state-level legislation often faces challenges. For instance, a proposal to raise the minimum marriage age to 18 in West Virginia was defeated in 2024 after facing opposition from Republican members of the Senate judiciary committee, despite substantial bipartisan support in the House.

In Wyoming, a similar initiative to raise the minimum marriage age to 16 met with fierce backlash from Republican lawmakers, who argued that the law should remain flexible for minors who become pregnant. In some cases, the discussions around child marriage reveal deeply troubling views. In New Hampshire, a Republican representative suggested underage marriage could be a “legitimizing option” for young girls who become pregnant.

In Texas, where three separate bills aimed at raising the minimum marriage age to 18 were introduced in 2025, all failed to reach a vote by the session’s end. Rep. Jon Rosenthal, a Democrat from the Houston suburbs, noted that although his legislation had broad support, it never received a hearing in the Senate. He attributed this to a lack of action from Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick, who controls the Senate agenda.

The implications of child marriage extend beyond individual stories. Research links early marriages to higher rates of divorce, increased instances of intimate partner violence, and significant obstacles in obtaining services for those seeking to escape such unions. Fraidy Reiss, founder and executive director of Unchained at Last, emphasized that the challenge lies not in the presence of organized opposition but in the general neglect of issues affecting girls and women in the political landscape.

Reiss noted, “Passing these laws costs nothing and harms no one, except predators who prey on children.” This sentiment raises questions about the priorities of lawmakers and the systemic disregard for women’s rights within American politics.

As the struggle against child marriage continues, advocates remain committed to pushing for reforms that reflect a growing consensus against the practice. The fight involves not only legal changes but also a cultural shift towards recognizing the rights and autonomy of minors, particularly young girls, in the United States.