The Legal Trap of Child Marriage and Blocked Care for Minors
In a country that claims to value freedom, the United States still allows the legal ownership of girls, just dressed up in wedding rings and court orders.
In over half the country, a minor can be legally forced into marriage.
In most of those same states, that child can’t even get divorced, access mental healthcare, or make decisions about her own pregnancy without permission from the very adults who may be hurting her.
This isn’t an oversight.
It’s a system.
And it’s working exactly as designed.
Between 2000 and 2018, approximately 300,000 minors were legally married in the United States. some of these marriages involved children as young as 10 years old, though the vast majority were 16 or 17 .
As of 2024, child marriage is still legal in 37 U.S. states. Girls as young as 12 or 13 can be married off with parental consent or judicial approval. Often, these girls are paired with adult men far older than them, creating legal cover for relationships that would otherwise be considered statutory rape.
The states that allow this say it’s about preserving “family rights” or giving parents a say in their child’s future. But in reality, these laws prioritize parental control over a child’s wellbeing, and expose young individuals to significant lifelong harm, including limited access to education, increased likelihood of domestic violence, isolation, poverty, adverse health outcomes, and trauma.
And once she’s married, that child loses nearly every avenue of escape.
- She can’t file for divorce in most states.
- She may not be able to rent an apartment or open a bank account.
- Domestic violence shelters and legal aid programs often only serve adults.
- And if she’s pregnant, by coercion, rape, or pressure, she often needs her parents’ permission to end it.
When a Child Bride Wants an Abortion
In 35 states, minors cannot access abortion without parental involvement, even if they’re already legally married. Some require parental notification. Others demand parental consent.
The alternative is a judicial bypass: a court process where a traumatized girl, possibly a child bride, possibly a victim of rape, has to stand before a judge and convince them that she’s mature enough to terminate the pregnancy, mature enough to decide what happens to her own body.
She’s still a child in the eyes of the law.
She’s not allowed to vote.
She can’t legally consent to sex.
But she’s expected to become a mother, unless the adults who put her in this position shrank her permission to escape it.
And if she’s not granted that permission?
The court forces her to carry the pregnancy.
The state forces her to give birth.
And no one is held accountable for the system that trapped her there.
Mental Healthcare? Only With Permission
When minors seek therapy, counseling, or psychiatric care, 32 states still require parental consent. That means a child being abused at home, or coerced into marriage, cannot legally access a therapist without the abuser’s approval.
Only 18 states allow minors to seek mental health care on their own. The rest call it “parental rights.” But when parental rights are used to block a child’s cry for help, it’s not protection, it’s captivity.
The Broader Pattern: Whose Rights Are Guaranteed?
This is part of a larger, more dangerous trend. Across the country, the rights of girls and women are subject to votes, court fights, and local politics, while the rights of men are broadly protected by the Constitution.
Why do the most basic, fundamental rights of women and girls (bodily autonomy, freedom from forced marriage, access to healthcare) need to be voted on state by state, while men’s rights are guaranteed federally without question?
Because control over girls’ bodies is still seen as a family matter, not a constitutional one.
A Tale of Two Americas
In states like Oregon, California, Connecticut, and New York, minors can access abortion and mental health care without parental consent. These states are leading the way in protecting young people’s autonomy and safety.
Meanwhile, in states like Mississippi, Missouri, Arkansas, and Idaho, parental control laws dominate. Girls can be married off, denied abortion, and blocked from therapy, all while being legally too young to drive.
We don’t need more “parental rights.”
We need more child protections.
Because no child should need permission to escape abuse.
The Path Forward
To end this crisis, we must:
- Ban child marriage nationwide, with no exceptions.
- Guarantee minors access to confidential mental health care.
- Protect abortion access for minors without forcing them to notify or obtain permission from potentially abusive parents.
- Enshrine girls’ rights federally, so they aren’t stripped away at the state level.
Let’s be clear: This isn’t about maturity. It’s about power.
And the people most harmed by these laws are the ones with the least of it.
Until we fix that, freedom in America will continue to be conditional, especially if you’re young, female, and in danger.
