Why doesn&#39;t the law allow a &quot;test-drive&quot; of a child bride before marriage?
<p>I was just wondering, suppose a 40 year old man really loves a 15 year old girl and wants to marry her and the feeling is mutual between them.  The parents of the girl give pre-approval for the couple to marry when she is age 16, and in a state that allows a minor to marry at age 16 with parents approval. In other words, everything is on the "up and up" as far as legality.</p>

<p>The main question is how is the man supposed to "test-drive" his wife to be, since she is still a minor?  I suspect it would be legal for them to sex AFTER they are married, but I suspect not before.  I have a problem with that law because that is like saying you have to buy a car without test driving it and that is risky.  Would they be allowed to date but not engage in sex?  For example, if they went to a movie together hand in hand and a cop saw them maybe in the theater lobby all cuddly, could he do anything about them like ask her age?</p>

<p>Suppose they couldn't wait and "cheated" 1 day before they were married.  Could the man go to prison for that but if he had waited until his wedding night he would be fine?  Something doesn't seem quite right here.  They might be saying a married minor CAN give consent but an unmarried one cannot.  But what if they are engaged and only a short time away from marriage.  Why is there no stipulation in the law for that?  What if they find out later they are not sexually compatible then it is "too late".  Allowing the "test drive" could help solve that problem.  Perhaps they would need some special court paperwork to allow a "pre-consummation" perhaps no more than 3 months before their intended wedding date and only if the younger person is at least already age 16.</p>

<p>I understand the law is to help protect young girls from pregnancy, and I feel the minimum age should be about 17 or whatever the data shows is the youngest age that their bodies can handle the stress of childbirth.  Perhaps even "pad" (pun intended) it with an extra year just to be "safe" so age 18.</p>

<p>The law does not recognize marital test-drive rights. I assume you are speaking of the US (you said "state"). If sex between a 15 year old and a 40 year old is illegal outside of marriage (I have not done a 50 state survey, but I assume it is illegal), then it is illegal until the couple are legally married. Generally, any sex with a minor is a crime, but "Romeo and Juliet" clauses were enacted specifically to cover the case of two teens having sex when the parties are "close enough" in age (as defined by the state's law). As far as I know, no state has a law that sets age of consent at 15 (<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ages_of_consent_in_the_United_States#State_laws" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Wiki sez so</a>). This BTW holds of adult females and juvenile males, as well.
The law does provide a sort of lemon-law: divorce. </p>

marriage minor rape