Eighteen states and counting have passed age verification laws intended to shield minors from explicit and inappropriate adult content online by requiring websites with pornography to verify the age of users before granting access. Last week, Texas’s solicitor general appeared before the US Supreme Court to defend their state’s age verification law, passed in 2023. The outcome of that case will determine the fate of similar laws in other states. The Washington Post reported that the Court seemed likely to rule in favor of Texas.

Fight the New Drug reports that over 84% of males will view pornography before they reach the age of 18. Some have contended that this increase among young boys has lead to an increase in harmful issues that negatively impact marriage and family issues as they get older.

“It is traumatic for young children to be exposed to sexual content that their minds are not prepared for,” trauma expert Dr. Jennifer Bauwens explained. “They don’t have a concept of that. And then for it to be portrayed in such a vile way — increasingly, the porn has become more aggressive and bizarre and grotesque. Children just don’t have the emotional, neurological capacity to fully understand these things. And it makes such a hard-wired imprint on the brain. Not that it can’t be dealt with or altered, but it does make a substantial change to the brain.”

Age verification is a common-sense method to help protect minors. We are encouraged that the Wisconsin State Assembly passed a similar bill in Wisconsin last year and we pray that both the Assembly and Senate would come together by putting this bill on the Governor's desk to sign by the end of this legislative session.

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