Mexico moves toward total ban on underage marriage

Mexico City: Mexico has moved closer to a total, nationwide ban on underage marriage with no exceptions after the Senate approved the prohibition.

The changes to the national legal codes still have to approved by the lower house. The law approved Thursday would require people to be at least 18 to get married. Most of Mexico's 32 state-level governments prohibit underage marriage, but exceptions have been allowed, with parental consent. According to the Interior Department, only Baja California state remains without a ban.

Just a few years ago, boys as young as 16, and girls as young as 14, were allowed to marry with their parents' consent. The department said in 2015, 24,338 people under 18 got married in Mexico; the majority were young girls marrying older males.