Now that you say this, is there any actual data on harms caused to teenagers from consensual sexual relationships with adults? Or are we all just freaking out because it's unpalatable?
So, really, pretty laughably not comparable. And to directly answer your question, the answer is duh, no.
I'm sure you're equally upset about young kids being put in beauty pageants or the countless (Republican) states that have recently defended child marriage. Right? Right?
Get help.
Also I'm sure we have plenty data that sex can be traumatic even for grown women in consensual relationship. Sex is very strong experience. And your penis is not some holy grail all people want.
Must all moral decisions be based on data? If so, what level of certainty is required of this data? In this hypothetically permissive world, is a 13 year the same as an 18 year-old? Because in my experience, their capacities to reason through difficult choices are entirely different. And what makes a 13 year-old substantively different from a 12 year-old? Clearly by limiting your hypothetical to teens, you’re saying something about their capacity to make fully reasoned choices in a way that differs from younger peers. Is there data there? Are these properties evenly distributed in the population? As a parent of a teen, I’m fine if there’s no data here; and I’m ok that it’s a moral choice that the culture in which I live makes based on a deeply held duty to protect, even if the harms aren’t fully understood. Because power differentials may create the illusion of consent, when it’s not truly fully given.
YES
Becoming involved in sexual relationships early makes someone mean/cruel later in life. It also makes them more manipulative. Both are bad for society.
Bill and Hillary Clinton are examples of people who got involved sex too early, and we know how they treat people.
Imagine the nastiest attorney you know. I bet he/she was getting laid in junior high.
OTOH, helping children keep their innocence leads to kind and caring adults.