It is ilegal in most states for persons under the age of 18 to engage in sexual acts. Should we crack down on the under age baby making and enforce the law? What would be the Pros and/or Cons of doing so? How could we fix this issue?
2006-10-20 03:14:02 · 18 answers · asked by PunkPanther 2 in Politics & Government ➔ Law & Ethics
It is simply wrong what you have said. The age of consent in most states is 16. And many states have particular provisions regarding younger teens, whereby the existence of a crime, or the degree of criminality, depends on the gap between the ages of the two people.
To see how statutory rape is or isn't charged in certain preganancy-marriage cases, see the second and third links below. There was one case I heard about (but have not seen recorded anywhere) where a prosecutor charged two 14-year-olds with statutory rape of each other. There was videotape evidence, but the jury refused to convict anyway (jury nullification).
2006-10-20 03:51:50 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
If we put these under age mothers in jail who is going to take care of their children or are we suppose to open a nursery in prison and let the tax payers take that burden too? No, we shouldn't "punish" them. The laws are that an adult is not to have sex with a minor without consent. There are many 17 year olds that get married and have sex, they are married, they should be able to have sex. Most of our great grandparents would have been in a lot of trouble too... there have been many pregnancies through history that involved mothers and fathers under the age of 18... in this day and age, no I don't feel that teens are mature enough to deal with the responsibilities of parenthood, but then again I feel that way about a lot of parents too.
As for how to fix the problem, we would have to fix a lot of problems such as what is morally acceptable in our society today. The media and what is except able to be published, blah, blah, blah... we have pushed for our kids to grow up faster in many ways, just look at the expectations of a student in the classroom now, from even five years ago. We as a society would have to start by slowing down and not rushing everything. We also we need to teach more by example than we have lately too.
2006-10-20 10:23:23 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
The only way that there should be a crime is if an adult got that child pregnant, other than that NO. Why would you charge a child with a crime for getting pregnant. Like the stress of getting pregnant is not enough. I think that we should be harsher on the education to a child about teen pregnancy, but not punish them. Then the abortion rate would really go up then, they would be doing it to avoid getting caught. At least now, the babies have a chance, because we can council the teen on what the right decision to do is. They can opt for adoption, or they may have parents that would help them raise them. So my answer is...absolutely not!
2006-10-20 10:20:47 · answer #3 · answered by PROUD wife of a soldier in Iraq 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
That's ridiculous. Pregnany is a result of sex which they are already attempting to crack down on. Teenage women who are pregnant are already going through enough. They don't need to be arrested for having a baby. That would only mean more babies being born in jail or more babies without their mommies around because they are in jail or doing community service. If the mothers are caught up in community service due to the fact that they had a baby at an early age then how will they have time enough for school and a job too? It's awful that teens get pregnant, but that's for them and their parents to deal with. Would you rather a pregnant teen be in jail or an armed robber?
2006-10-20 10:24:45 · answer #4 · answered by bbydol221 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I don't think that a person should be punished for getting preg no matter the age. I think that they made a mistake getting preg at such a young age, but it is not a crime nor should it be.
I think that better parenting and teaching on birthcontrol is the only solution. If you are going to punish the child for getting preg so young then you need to punish the parent for not helping them to learn how to prevent it and talking to their children about it. Most underage pregnancies come from lack of education on the subject from the parents not taking an active role in the childs life and coming to the realization that their child WILL have sex weather you want them to or not.
Best prevention is education.
2006-10-20 10:19:17 · answer #5 · answered by sesamenc 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Would depend on the situation. But between the ages of 13 and 18 hormones are running rampant in all teens bodies, that's for both males and females. And frankly, the way I taught my 12 and 15 year old is this: if you are old enough and stupid enough to get pregnant, your punishment is to keep the baby. No abortion, no giving up for adoption, they get to reap the benefits of night time feedings, etc. Frankly underaged pregnancies should not be punishable as a crime, unless done by way of rape, then it's the man who goes to jail, not the girl.
2006-10-20 10:17:24 · answer #6 · answered by GirlinNB 6 · 0⤊ 1⤋
No, it should not. It's too difficult to enforce and too expensive. And yes, 18 and under can get it on, but usually with those who are the same age.
I'm sorry to say that many of my students (under 18) dated men who were much, much older, like 24, 25, 26.
2006-10-20 10:17:37 · answer #7 · answered by J G 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
NO!! This is a huge problem and blame is on the kids and the parents. There has been underage pregnancy forever but since the government has dictated that parents can no longer punish a child physically and the bible could not be taught in school we now have numerous underage pregnancies, school shootings, gangs, drugs, underage drinking and all of our juvenile facilities are full. I think this is not a coincedence. Thanks for the opportunitiy to get on my soap box.
2006-10-20 10:29:28 · answer #8 · answered by danewiese 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I think you should crack down on sex in the media before taking such drastic measures.
Even more so I think it's the parents fault...People have no interest in their kids these days.
And above all, monitoring they way they dress...I was at the store the other day and I saw a 6" skirt in the juniors department. Now you can't tell me that it doesn't scream 'jail bait'....
Cons? Expense - ineffectiveness. You need a proactive solution, not a reactive solution.
2006-10-20 10:16:10 · answer #9 · answered by Corn_Flake 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
That is an interpretation based on conservative Christian and fundamentalist Islamic beliefs - and both history and current events suggest the world would be a better place without either.
There would be no issue if people cared more about educating their minds than in believing the nonsense of outdated superstitious belief systems.
2006-10-20 10:25:44 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋