Should it be illegal for 1st cousins to marry?

[brasty]

My DP's parents are 1st cousins, and DP has a genetic illness. Marrying your 1st cousin increases the chances of genetic illness. So I wonder if we should simply make it illegal for 1st cousins to marry? Obviously anyone married would stay so, it would only apply to new marriages.
AIBU?

OP I think there should be a law.

This sort of in-breeding has negative social affects beyond just birth defects. It's harder for partners to make their own choices, and there is a lot of family pressure. Incest laws protect not only future children of any marriage, but also young people against abuse by their families.

Interesting thread.

I think it should be made illegal. It is just not fair on the affected children as a result of something that isn't necessary. I think some minority communities should understand that not every custom that was practiced in their country of origin can be practiced here. I also think - and this may sound callous when I really don't mean it to - that when you have a free to access healthcare service like the NHS then it gives the state some extra right to pass laws that protect unnecessary burdens on its resources.

I don't think it should be illegal for ordinary first cousins.
It's sequential multiple generations of first cousin marriages that is mostly linked with genetic problems.

I know of a few love affairs betw. first cousins.

I shouldn't marry some of my first cousins b/c our dad's are ID twins & that would be too ruddy close.

@Awwlookatmybabyspider stop calling it sick. You have no idea. None at all.

There was an article in the press recently about a London Borough (Redbridge) where 19% of child deaths were attributed to first and second cousins marrying, among Asian families. It said about launching education programmes within the communities and schools. I am very very shocked to read that it isn't legal, I had always assumed it was.

One of the problems is not the first time cousins intermarry but when they come from a tradition where their children will also intermarry meaning they share a very small gene pool and the chances the faults will multiply. Gene testing might help but I don't think cousin marriage should be forbidden - just educated about though some communities might see it as intrusive. I have a friend whose DC has a minor auto immune disease and is love with someone with a similar one - not related to each other but I would be happier if they checked the consequences. Not my place to suggest it though!

I think some minority communities should understand that not every custom that was practiced in their country of origin can be practiced here.

Yes, totally. Cos Britain has no tradition of cousin marriages, ohno. We never see it in the history books.

My sister went out with our cousin for a bit. We were all horrified not least because our dads are identical twins. Luckily they saw sense.

I don't think one set of first cousins marrying is particularly risky.

The problems start when it happens generation after generation, everyone in the fanmily is so closely related to everyone else. Ask any farmer or zoo keeper about the importance of putting fresh genes into the gene pool.

It's a cultural thing and very common in the Pakistani community. It's a tradition which has been going on for centuries though so not sure how it can be stopped.

I'm in a relationship with my 1st cousin. We've just had our little boy ( who is perfectly healthy). We were referred for genetic counselling prior to conceiving at Guys in London and told our chances were minimal ( only 1-2% higher than for non related couples) of there being any issues.

We didn't meet until early adulthood which made a difference. It really is absolutely no big deal for us.

It's legal in the UK but illegal to marry a step brother/sister which is of no blood relation.

I do, yes. I have a disabled kid and I would want anything that could avoidably create a disability prevented, for the sake of that child. The royal families used to intermarry, and they were riddled with genetic disorders as a result. It's not as though first cousin marriage is lawful everywhere. I don't think it should be criminalised, but I think marriage should be barred.

I don't think it's either sick or immoral - most people don't have that much to do with their cousins, and has been said, through history it was fairly common. It wasn't even seen as awful 50 odd years ago - there's a casual mention of it in a Noel Streitfield book! But given the risks are now well known, and they're risks not borne by the adults but by a child who can't offer an opinion, I think it should be socially discouraged. Making marriages between cousins void would help to do that.

But I am the child and I haven't suffered not a bit minus a really horrible comment from a GP.

With respect andie you aren't that child. You're a child born of a consanguinous relationship. You're not one of the children born with multiple complex needs, some of which turn out to be life limiting, many of which it would be disingenuous to claim the child wasn't suffering. One of the children for whom these devastating health issues were entirely preventable. I know that your family tree makes this discussion very personal for you and I apologise for that. But we're informed enough to not take risks like these with our children's lives. It's very easy to ignore the consequences until you realise the sheer number of children living with severe but entirely preventable conditions.

The fact that the cousins have not met before the marriage is not the issue by the way
its the gene pool problems
that run a massively increased risk of the children having difficulties for their whole life.

Do you want children who will look after you in your old age
or children who you will be looking after till you die

choose your marriage partner carefully

YANBU

Also found this piece which says children of cousins have the same risk of being born with a genetic defect as babies born to mothers over the age of 40. There's no discussion about stopping women conceiving on a certain birthday.

www.independent.co.uk/news/science/theres-nothing-wrong-with-cousins-getting-married-scientists-say-1210072.html

Illegal in many of the American states but you can cross into the next state and marry there.

Queen Victoria and the Prince Consort were first cousins . . . or rather they weren't. The Cabinet were not happy about it; enough of them were from the ruling classes to know the risks. But they were assured by James Bond's predecessors that the Prince's "father" (the Queen's mother's brother) was "wholly abnormal" (which may have meant gay or impotent, nobody can know which) so there was no blood relationship; and there were several candidates for the honour of being the Prince's biological father. (One of them was Jewish and there are photos of Edward VII which appear to bear out his claim).

And the Cabinet not only allowed the marriage but agreed that it should be hushed up until the Queen, the Prince, and their children were all dead, which was not until the 1940s.

I suppose there can be no objection to same-sex first cousin marriages!

ILs are from Norfolk and cousin marriages are quite frequent there.

Strangely enough my great grandparents were from Norfolk and were also first cousins

But it is same risk as having a baby over 35! So saying cousin shouldn't have babies is the same as saying all the mothers are irresponsible

Should be illegal. Having the same grandparents as your spouse? GRIM and incest.

My great (half) aunty Sally is the product of a first-cousin marriage and she has two wombs.

True story.

It's legal in the UK but illegal to marry a step brother/sister which is of no blood relation.

I thought it was under the age of 21 that marriage was not permitted? I'm particularly interested as I was in a relationship with my (same age) stepbrother.

Macarena
THat independent article is VERY out of date.
Science has moved on a LOT since then

It's legal in the UK but illegal to marry a step brother/sister which is of no blood relation.

I think that's if they have lived together as children of the same family at some point? It's okay to marry a step-parent, even, if the step-child was never treated as a child of their family and never lived/stayed under their roof before the age of 18. The thinking behind that is that a child can be groomed by an adult, and a sibling by an older sibling. It's a child protection issue rather than an incest one (see: Woody Allen...)

A cousin, who lots of people barely know, isn't likely to fall under that heading per se. Stepfamilies are.

YANBU
As pp have said, if it's an isolated one off that is different to say, arranged marriages between first cousins...much like royal families who had first cousins marry to keep control of wealth. The pool becomes smaller.
Before the Industrial Revolution and development in transport, first cousin marriages were more prevalent. When people are able to travel, meet more people, the practice has diminished. With regard to 'brides from back home' , I think more and more families are abandoning first cousin marriages as families are dispersing.
It does make me wonder why particular areas of the UK have a high rate of first cousin marriage?

We can not help who we fall in love with...but to deliberately set up a marriage knowing there is a high likelihood of medical problems, I do not agree with that. If it is made illegal does it penalise those who are the 'isolated' cases? Hmmh