Teenage Dads Should Be Recognised By Law, PL MP Urges After Meeting Young Family
An encounter with a young family prompted PL MP Amanda Spiteri Grech to propose a change to Malta’s laws regulating parenthood.
Spiteri Grech, a family lawyer, said she recently encountered a 17-year-old man and a 16-year-old woman who are expecting a baby together.
However, seeing as the father is younger than 18, his partner must register herself as a single mother with an unknown father. This is despite the fact that the age of sexual consent has stood at 16 years old since 2018, with the law even allowing 16 and 17 year olds to get married with parental consent.
“This is an anomaly which must be addressed,” Spiteri Grech said. “While we reduced the age of consent to 16, we are also saying that mothers should shoulder all responsibility for their children while fathers younger than 18 cannot.”
“I believe this is an injustice against the mother, the baby and the father and I will work to change this anomaly.”
Do you agree with this proposal?
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