Child marriage is a problem throughout the world, including in the United States. Most states set the legal age to marry at 18, but there are ways to circumvent that restriction with a parent’s approval or a doctor’s note saying they’re pregnant. There were 14,000 underage marriages occurred in the decade between 2000 and 2010 in New York, New Jersey, Maryland, and Virginia. Now many states are trying to pass legislation that would close these loopholes.

Read more at: http://www.npr.org/2016/04/05/473106012/who-decides-if-youre-too-young-to-marry