Step One
Child marriage exists in the American society in the present times. In the frontline podcast, Raney states that approximately 200, 000 minors were married legally in the United States ( Tsui, 2017 ). This happened between 2000 and 2015. According to the investigation conducted by Frontline, the minors are given the go ahead to marry because of some certain situations. It is an issue that causes mixed reactions from different people. There are those who propose that minors should be allowed to marry in certain circumstances while there are those who are of the idea that it should be completely banned ( Tsui, 2017 ).
Although there are legal ages established for drinking, driving etc., most states do not have a legally established age that one is allowed to marry. According to the Frontline, girls in most cases are the ones who get married at a very young age, mostly 16 and 17 years. However, there are some who get married at the age of 10 and 11 years. In most cases, they get married to older men who are either 18 years or in their twenties. Different states have different laws regarding child marriage and there are those that have lenient laws such as Missouri ( Tsui, 2017 ).
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The story of Heather highlights the issue of child marriage in the United States. Heather was married at the age of 14 to a24-year old man because of her condition then ( Tsui, 2017 ). She was in a relationship with him and in the process got pregnant. The option chosen was marriage and both Keith and Aaron got married three days before her 15 th birthday in Missouri ( Tsui, 2017 ). However, one month after the wedding, Heather suffered a miscarriage and the reason for the marriage was gone. Although both Heather and Aaron wanted to stay, the marriage was no longer the same and fights were constant. Heather’s mother, Lynette, intervened and had Aaron arrested and sentenced and the marriage annulled. Keith, Heather’s father was also sentenced to 120 days for allowing child marriage. Lucrecia Villafan, an attorney, states that she also got marriage as an underage, at the age of seventeen ( Tsui, 2017 ). However, her marriage has lasted and she has three children.
Step Two
The most surprising aspect of the podcast is Heather’s marriage annulment and imprisonment of Aaron. The marriage is annulled because the pregnancy is lost. This shows that the mere reason for the marriage was the pregnancy and because it was lost, Aaron could now be sent to jail.
Step Three
I feel that child marriage should be banned completely and by all means. The podcast clearly shows that a large percentage of child marriages happen not because it was planned and intended but due to circumstances such as pregnancy. In addition, children have no clear understanding of what marriage life entails and they are too young to bring forth other children and manage families. Furthermore, children have a bright future ahead of them and by having them married; their dreams are shuttered just like those of Heather. She has not been able to go back to school after the marriage and fulfill her dreams.
By getting married at a very young age, they are not able to improve their lives and make a better future. Most of them are forced to look for employment in order to cater for their families. Because they lack academic qualifications, they end up getting casual jobs that earn them very little. Besides, child marriage can cause adverse health issues especially mental problems such as depression and anxiety as seen in the case of Heather after the marriage ended. Because they are not emotionally and physically mature to handle marriage life, children can experience health issues that may adversely affect their lives.
Reference
Tsui, A. (2017, September 14). Child Marriage in America. Frontline. Retrieved from https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/podcast/dispatch/child-marriage-in-america/
