The North Carolina girl never intended to be in this situation.

Pregnant at 15.

Marrying the 17-year-old father.

But it was 1996.

And the girl lived in Eden, a conservative town bordering Virginia, with a population around 15,000 and a community that believed the only thing a girl could do in this situation was take responsibility for becoming pregnant and make it right.
“It was very shaming and very uncomfortable,” said the girl, now a 40-year-old woman.

Agreeing to marry the father, court documents show, led to years of abuse, which she’s still trying to escape.

And her experience is being repeated with teenagers in North Carolina today.

CHILD MARRIAGES IN NORTH CAROLINA
Under North Carolina law, 14- or 15-year-olds can marry if they become pregnant and 16- or 17-year-olds can marry with a parent’s permission.

Article Here

Wow Lil I saw this quote and thought but don’t they want better for the next generation?


Sen. Danny Britt, a Lumberton Republican, said his colleagues have told him they support the intent behind the original bill draft, which would have banned all child marriages, but couldn’t vote to pass it because they either married as minors, married a minor or know someone who married as a minor.

Read more here: https://www.newsobserver.com/news/politics-government/article253153718.html#storylink=cpy

What an archaic, life-limiting practice! Nobody wins.