In Mississippi, any girl 15 years old or younger is not of consenting age for sex. But national statistics show half of all children born to minors are fathered by adult men. That means statutory rape has been committed.
State lawmakers say they want to bring those rapists to justice.

"I was at work last night. There were two girls on our unit," said Tonya Britton, a registered nurse at University Medical Center. "It's every day I go to work."

Britton testified before a select committee on child abuse in favor of increased reporting of girls under 15 giving birth.

"You have an obligation to do that," said Britton. "You don't want to sent this girl back out and place her at risk again."

The committee is working off the simple fact that a girl who is pregnant under the age of fifteen is the victim of a statutory rape and the father, the perpetrator, must be found.

"If it is a crime. We want to deter that crime from occurring, then we need to make sure there's a reporting mechanism in place so law enforcement can get that information," said Rep. Mark Baker of Brandon.

Britton says UMC notifies social workers, who interview the girl and her parents, then report their findings to the state department of human services. DHS then takes that information to the district attorney. The new bill would allow health care workers and others to go directly to police.

"Our goal is to look at the reporting process and to tweak that and to correct that where we have more people involved in the process," Baker said.

But Felicia Brown Williams of Planned Parenthood said she believes it may delay pregnant girls from getting the care they need, because they're afraid to speak to an adult who may go to the police.

"We're concerned about teens having access to health care, particularly abortion services when they need that."

Some lawmakers are also looking at including abortion clinics among the list of health care facilities who must report an underage girl receiving that procedure. So far it has not been included.