US Lawmaker Says Teens Are "Ripe, Fertile", Sparks Outrage

An American lawmaker is being slammed on social media for his remarks about teenagers. While arguing against a bill that would set New Hampshire's minimum age of marriage at 18, Republican and House of Representatives member Jess Edwards said that the move will make abortion more desirable for girls who are of a "ripe, fertile" age. The comments were made during a debate on the bill. A video of Mr Edwards' remarks is gaining a lot of traction, amassing more than a million views.

"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 is heard saying in the video.

The bill seeks to raise New Hampshire's minimum marriage age to 18, which currently is 16. Mr Edwards' remarks were met with laughter in the House.

Despite his intervention, the legislature passed the bill and sent it to Governor Chris Sununu, as per Newsweek.

New Hampshire state representative Wendy Thomas, a democrat, was among those who criticised the lawmaker.

"This is what we are up against in New Hampshire. A grown old man on the N.H. house floor defending child marriage (no age limit at all) because those children (girls) are 'ripe and fertile'," Ms Thomas wrote on her Facebook page.

However, Mr Edwards said by exploiting his poor word choice, some people are creating distraction from the fundamental issue - government restricting the freedoms of 16 and 17-year-olds.

"If somebody's old enough to engage in sex, they're old enough to deal with the consequences of pregnancy. So I believe in having people be responsible and having the freedom of choice to meet their responsibilities the best way they can," Mr Edwards told MassLive.

He also explained the reason behind choosing the words "ripe" and "fertile".

"I don't think anyone should be upset about the use of the word fertile because that's the foundation of pregnancy and that's the trigger for abortion. So for people to react to the word fertile, I just think it's ridiculous. It's an emotionally-laden driven issue," he told the outlet.

Speaking about the word "ripe", he said, "You got to keep in mind that I was looking at 375 people over the age of 65. And the word was intended to grab a bunch of old people's attention to remind them of what it was like to be a teenager."

If New Hampshire's bill becomes law, it would leave Maine as the only state in the northeast of the US that allows marriage below the age of 18.