Originally Posted by Lebell

I can only reply in same, you miss the point.

I fully agree that some adults should not have sex, nor should they marry or procreate. This thread isn't about them.

I also agree that some young people are capable of making wise decisions for their years. This thread isn't about them.

I further agree that 14 year olds can, will, and have engaged in what I will agree is consensual sex. This thread isn't about them either.

What it is about is can a much older woman (did the article say her age?) engage in consentual sex with a 14 year old.

We know without a doubt that children in their adolescent years are undergoing profound emotional and physical changes, including (as recent research shows) actual changes in the brain that directly tie to their ability to make decisions. This is in addition to the issues that teachers and parents know well such as the 'rebellion', ie, the beginnings of self definition separate from the parent's identity.

Any teacher worth the title knows these things and would never allow their own feelings for a student to affect their position of trust, let alone develop into a full-blown relationship. They and we know that the trust position becomes akin to a substitute parent and it is easy to push and pursuade the child into situations that an experienced adult would not accede to.

This isn't about forcing a society's morals on anyone, nor is it blurry, as it might be if the two in question where older.

It is about protecting people who cannot protect themselves. Arguing otherwise opens the way into an area where I really don't think we as a society want to go.