Victory! Oregon Banned Child Marriage

May 29, 2025

We are celebrating a new major victory against child marriage: Oregon has officially banned all marriages under 18, becoming the 15th state in the U.S. to protect minors from child marriage. SB 548 passed the Oregon legislature in May, and yesterday, Governor Tina Kotek signed it into law, sending a powerful message: Child marriage has no place in Oregon.

Introduced in January by Senators Sollman and Smith, and Representative Mannix, with strong bipartisan support, Senate Bill 548 reflected a united commitment to ending this human rights abuse. In February, AHA Foundation traveled to Oregon to testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee in support of this bill and meet with legislators to advocate for its passage. In May, we returned to testify before the House Judiciary Committee and advocate at additional meetings.

We stood alongside survivors who bravely shared their experiences—bringing the real-life consequences of child marriage to the forefront of the fight, and fellow advocates. Their courage, combined with the dedication and efforts of our longtime allies and supporters like you, helped to push this bill over the finish line.

Since the start of this year, the movement to protect children from the injustice of child marriage has advanced substantially. Together, we are making history, one state at a time. Yet, with only 15 states banning child marriage, 35 states still leave minors vulnerable to this injustice.

Your continued support is the driving force behind this progress. Let’s keep pushing forward—stand with us and help make child marriage a thing of the past.