The New Hampshire state legislature was debating a bill which would ban teen marriage by raising the minimum age to be married to 18 years old. It was during this debate when State Representative Jess Edwards gave a most disturbing comment: Rep. Jess Edwards argued that taking away the possibility of marriage could lead more 16- and 17-year-olds to abortion. “… If we continually restrict the freedom of marriage as a legitimate social option, when we do this to people who are a ripe, fertile age and may have a pregnancy and a baby involved, are we not in fact making abortion a much more desirable alternative, when marriage might be the right solution for some freedom-loving couples?” he said. Hey, Jess!