Maybe Kansas Isn't So Bad

[_Code]

February 15 - State lawmakers are taking steps to set to modify the minimum age for Kansas residents to get married. All but one member voted in favor of the bill.

Right now, Kansas law allows people as young as 12-years-old to get married with a parent or judge's consent. The House has given approval on a bill that would change the minimum age to 16 with parental approval and 18 without it.

The bill passed 121-1. Representative Bonnie Huy of Wichita cast the one dissenting vote. Huy says there have only been 34 underage marriages since 1999 in Kansas. She says she doesn't want to limit Kansans facing the most important decision of their young lives.

Huy says she doesn't embrace underage marriage, but believes changing the law infringes on parents rights to raise children. She calls the bill a knee jerk reaction to an isolated incident.

Just last year, a 23-year-old Nebraska man, Matthew Koso, brought his pregnant 14-year-old girlfriend to Kansas to get married. The couple was married, but Koso has since been sentenced to prison for sexual assault.

It could still be several weeks before the bill makes it to the Senate floor. It is expected to pass.


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to do list:

1) find 13 year old
2) take her to kansas
3) marry her
4) hire lawyer for federal statutory rape case....

[-=[Tork]=-]

Figures...."a 23-year-old Nebraska man, Matthew Koso, brought his pregnant 14-year-old girlfriend to Kansas to get married. The couple was married, but Koso has since been sentenced to prison for sexual assault."

[estara]

From a female health perspective this is a good thing... It is not healthy for girls to have sex, and especially not babies, until they're about 18. There's a reason why all those women who got married at 12 and had 6 kids by 25 died when they were 32...

[-=[Tork]=-]

"The scientists theorized that during evolution, this was because the elder female would be able to provide assistance with the raising of the children in the tribe, while the elder male, unable to hunt, would be useless." yeah i've heard that many times and on a lighter side i don't think i would want to live much longer then my future wife... it'd be like that meat loaf song you know.... "and now I'm waiting till the end of time"

[estara]

Primarily, it is unhealthy because the cervix is not fully developed. Its protective coating is not fully developed until about 18-22 give or take. If girls have sex before the protective coating has fully developed they at putting themselves at risk for infections and cervical cancer. That's why sexually active women have to have pap smears once a year. If they remain virgins, they don't have to have a pap smear till 22-25 (depending on who you ask).

I know this as a matter of be curious about my body. When I was going through puberty *shudders at the memories* a lot of information was made available to me. That was one of the things I found out. You can find similar information looking in any women's health book or by asking a gynecologist.

And as for bodies telling us different... that's purely subjective. Yes, male bodies tell them to have sex at that young age, but female bodies don't necessarily. Almost all the women and girls I've ever talked to or read accounts from, say they didn't want to have sex in their teens, but usually felt pressured into by boys. Girls tend to be much more driven to develop relationships and fit into their social structure during that time of life, than to start making babies.

[Nauren]

I think quite the opposite.......boys develop much later then girls.......girl are taller....developing more....and tend to go from the "ewww cuties" syndrome much faster then boys do. When boys do finally discover the joystick of life.....I'd say they do alot to catch up...but for the most part...women outnumber men 3-1..giving them the option to be permiscuous much earlier then men. From the beginning of time..and even today..its more socially acceptable for a younger woman to be with an older man.

[estara]

tarick said:

But that is all social, not health related. Your body, by going through puberty, states that it is ready to reproduce.

What is the difference between what goes on in one's mind and what goes on in one's body? Emotions and perceptions all happen in the brain. The brain controls the reactions of the body. If a girl feels like she must have sex to up-hold or create her social standing, she will. But in all likely-hood she will not enjoy it.

And how do you know puberty is the signal to reproduce? From my perception, the health risks associate with have sex before your body's protections are fully developed is a pretty good signal that you shouldn't be having sex.

I would say that, your body, by going through puberty, is saying that it is getting ready to reproduce. Not that you need to state reproducing now.

When a girl has her first period, is she ready to have babies? No. Usually her hips are still too narrow, her breasts have not developed, and she doesn't have the mental maturity to deal with being responsible for another human being. It would probably destroy her body to have a baby so soon after she entered puberty. That's what killed the women I referred to in my first post here. The initial baby damages the body severely. Maybe if she didn't have anymore children she could recover and live for a long time. Instead she has more children, which doesn't give her body time to heal, which leads her to an early death.

Given this, I don't think the onset of puberty is a signal to start reproducing. Not for women anyway.

[estara]

tarick said:

On a very loosely related note, I watched a show on History or some such, talked about the differing design of the human bodies. The male body is designed to break down (and die) earlier than the female body. The scientists theorized that during evolution, this was because the elder female would be able to provide assistance with the raising of the children in the tribe, while the elder male, unable to hunt, would be useless.

On an interesting note related to women living longer.... Scientists have recently found that women who have been pregnant (they didn't have to have a baby) have a large number of fetal cells floating around their bodies. Fetal cells, also called stem cells, are cells that given the right conditions, will become any kind of cell. Example, a fetal cell can become a heart cell and sit there beating on its own.

The scientist theorize that the fetal cells are one reason women, statistically, live longer than men, and tend to last longer during terminal illness.

A story to illustrate the point: A woman got cancer in her uterus. She had the tumor removed and a biopsy performed on it. The doctors found that throughout the tumor there were layers and layers of fetal cells. Now, for some reason this woman decided not to have all the usual cancer treatments. And she got better.

Very interesting. I don't have a link, because its something one of my professors shared with us.

[Nauren]

Who says we are supposed to live as long as we do Only in the last 50-75 years have humans obtained the ability to live longer. In the same era..the new social standings appeared that having what is now an underaged wife, a bad thing. Having babies at any age can cause cervical cancer, polycystic problems even death. Its a roll of the dice IMO. I'd say you would have a better chance at a full recovery starting at a younger age..and most likely would be healthier for the baby. All interesting stuff...but in most religions....christianity, muslim, jewish, etc.....all told stories of being married in the lower to mid teens.

None of this reflects my personal opinions on what should be accepted...just playing devils advocate and throwing interesting points out.

[estara]

tarick said:

Because they had 6 kids? That's enough to put anyone, regardless of their age, into an early grave.

There was a woman in Russia, in the early 20th century, who had 64 kids, and lived to be in her 80s. She didn't start having kids until she was in her 20s. She had her last child when she was 62.

There are similar accounts.

And yes, I am picking apart your post

[estara]

nauren said:

I'd say you would have a better chance at a full recovery starting at a younger age..and most likely would be healthier for the baby.

All recorded fact goes against that statement.

[flyingsnow]

the only thing i have to add to this whole discussion is that if one of you boys tries to hook up with a 12-15 year old girl (or god forbid, younger), or vice versa - older woman picking up boy child - i will not represent you in court. i will not give you legal advice. you are on your own. you are a nasty person who deserves to be raped by the big ugly men in jail. thank you and have a nice day

rofl, j/k. but seriously, don't do it ><

[Nauren]

Well I'd say not all facts are correct. Broken bones, burn victoms, severe surgical processes are younger ages are shown to be fully/mostly recovered by the time the person reaches adulthood. I fall under 2/3 of those categories.

Not to mention that most teenage girls are at least a large majority who are able to get alone to have sex....at least these days..are probably under the influence of other things that can cause problems as well.

[flyingsnow]

tarick said:

flyingsnow said:

the only thing i have to add to this whole discussion is that if one of you boys tries to hook up with a 12-15 year old girl (or god forbid, younger), or vice versa - older woman picking up boy child - i will not represent you in court. i will not give you legal advice. you are on your own. you are a nasty person who deserves to be raped by the big ugly men in jail. thank you and have a nice day

rofl, j/k. but seriously, don't do it ><

But we won't need a lawyer if we do it in Kansas, I thought...

no, i'm sure they still have stat. rape laws (in fact, if i get bored enough while i'm still here during this next hour, i'll check). it's just that when you get married, you no longer have to deal with statutory rape because you've been legally allowed to sleep (or as i call it, "hook up") with that person. so no, i doubt they'd let you hook up with a 12 year old, that you're not married to w/o any consequences sorry to burst your bubble tarick and code. i know you two were so looking forward to marrying a young little philly

[Nauren]

Thats not neccesarily true. what about the 37 y/o who is in jail..and married to the 15 y/o boy....and just had the baby in jail? They got legally married in another state that allowed it..but their home state still said its illegal.