A New Hampshire lawmaker who opposed a child marriage ban argued that teens are of a "ripe, fertile" age

Republican state Rep. Jess Edwards said last week that a bill banning marriage for people under 18 would make abortion more appealing for young people

"If we continually restrict the freedom of marriage as a legitimate social option, when we do this to people who are of a ripe, fertile age and may have a 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 couples?" he said[…]
Edwards' description of young people being of a "ripe, fertile age" was met with laughter. Despite his intervention, the New Hampshire House passed the bill on Thursday, sending it to the governor[…]
If New Hampshire's bill becomes law, it would leave Maine as the only state in the northeast of the U.S. that allows marriage below the age of 18