Abstract
Uncle George's Story, pinpoints the many policy tensions at play when minors desire to marry, especially when the minor female is pregnant. Clearly, George was a young man deeply affected by his experiences growing up as an illegitimate child. He made the voluntary choice to marry his childhood sweetheart,who was pregnant with another man's child. With the support of her father, George and his bride were legally married in Utah and had a strong, loving marriage. Yet, this story is not the typical story when teens marry. Consequently, under pure common law and subsequent statutory provisions, all states have carved out strict rules governing the process teenagers must use to obtain permission to marry. Utah has gone even farther to encourage the formation of strong marriages through its premarital counseling statutes. These statutes . encourage older teens (and require fifteen-year-olds) to participate in premarital counseling. Premarital counseling has proven effective in helping participants create a solid.foundation for their subsequent marriage. At the same time, it is not an undue burden to obtaining a marriage license, and there is discretion to waive the requirement by choice (through a six-month waiting period) or necessity (when it is not reasonably available). Utah's approach properly protects vulnerable minors from their own immaturity and limits the potential for duress by parents or other adults. Although the Utah statutes represent a minority position, they are a reasonable response to the tensions caused by teenage marriage and teenage pregnancy and similar legislation should be adopted by other states.
Recommended Citation
Beatse, Pamela E.
(2009)
"Marital Rights for Teens: Judicial Intervention that Properly Balances Privacy and Protection,"
Utah Law Review: Vol. 2009:
No.
2, Article 35.
Available at:
https://dc.law.utah.edu/ulr/vol2009/iss2/35