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?

LumelaMme
Its not bollocks. The stats include all consanguineous unions so do not differentiate between one offs and multi generationals.

I use to work in an area where the biggest minority group made up 40% of the overall population in the borough but the same group made up 98% of all children with complex multiple medical conditions. Consanguious marriages were common in this community

baldness in women

This thread is getting better and better! Don't know whether to laugh or cry.

There seems to be a very strong prejudice that cousin marriage is exclusive to the Pakistani community, involves forced marriage and always and in any circumstances causes an unacceptably high level of birth defects. Let's ignore all the people on this thread that say they are in such a relationship, or their parents are, out of their free will and with healthy children.

If only people were "educated" they would see the error of their primitive ways but you can't really talk about it because you'll get called a racist. And with good bloody reason.

Let's ignore the fact that the birth defect risk is the same as that of a woman over 35 or 40. Oh no, it's not the same thing at all - having children late in life knowing they are more likely to have issues is absolutely OK. BTW many people need genetic counselling before or during pregnancy... most of us in this thread were offered NHS genetic screening during our pregnancies, and gladly accepted it.

The school I work in is in a borough that is 3rd in the country for SEND due to the cultural practice of marrying first cousins. This was announced at last inset so perhaps steps will be taken to make this illegal.

Lets not get carried away Champagne

Over the past eight years there were 124 instances of infant mortality in the borough, 19 per cent of which were attributed to the parents being second cousins or more closely related

What is 19% of 124?

Over 8 years.
How many is that per year?
Too late for me to even think about that number.

I think it was very common- probably to keep land in the family.

My great aunt and great uncle were first cousins. No issues at all.

Haven't RTFT but in some countries it's legal, but there is genetic testing before marriage to ensure the most common inherited diseases won't be an issue.

DH's family are in-bred on both sides. Some of them are ok. Some are... um, odd.

it should be illegal, all my cousins my age are like my brothers, it would feel like serious incest, I can't even think of it without puking.

But Elvira, the risk is NOT the same. Studies within communities with consanguous marriage being common 1:5 childhood death, Champagnes experience above of 98% of children with complex needs.

I don't know if you have worked in these areas, but often the parents are poor and yes, with very little understanding of the risks involved.

One off marriages, different and make up a much smaller proportion.

I admit they are separate issues and perhaps a bit conflated but it is not racist to say there is a problem and it affects this demographic. For example there is a problem with COPD and it affects smokers who are often of a lower socioeconomic status. Racist/classist or a fact about a group who need education and choices.

Even if that stat is true, and I can't see how it could be...birth defects aren't the same as fatal illnesses, are they? Genetic disease doesn't always present at birth.

People are still ignoring the fact that there are other risk factors that are equal or greater for birth defects such as older parents, poverty and poor health. Plus the fact that there are are many posters who are either in a relationship with their first cousin or our children first cousins. The fact that this is being ignored, and numerous citations about the Pakistani community, leads me to think that this is badly disguised racism and bigoted ignorance.

I work with children with the most severe disabilities.
I work in east london
I am astounded that any single ethnicity would make up 98% of children with complex needs.

Researching my father's family tree, we have 2 sets of first cousins from same families marrying and then the children of 1 set marrying children of the other. That's a little too close for comfort.

Out of interest, horses were deliberately bred closely, top line breeding it's called.

I would really like to see that report Champagne. Do you have a link please?

Yes COPD is caused and/or exacerbated by smoking smoking but posters aren't saying that smokers dying from COPD sick and disgusting

Disclaimer: I'm in no way implying that has anything to do with humans.

I'm glad it isn't.

I wouldn't be here otherwise.

I've taken my family tree back a long way, in deepest darkest rural England, and never come across a first cousin marriage.

Whereas I can think of a fair few without needing to look back past 1800. Also marriages to the child of a first cousin. Mostly in the UK but also among British settlers in the Empire.

It should be illegal. Definitely.

If you've ever witness the lives of these children born as with these problems you'd try and prevent it as well. These can include a life of hospital appointments, unable to feed or communicate normally, dependendant on tracheostomies, oxygen to breath, needing suction machines to deal with their own saliva, needing nappies/catethers for life and the thing which haunts their parents is who will care for them if they die before their children. It's absolutely heart breaking for the child and their parents.

I don't think we are doing anyone any favours by ignoring that consanguineous marriage is more common in some communities and severe genetic conditions are common in those same communities.

It is an issue that is being discussed by paediatricians and community leaders. It is something seized on by racists and bigots (like they bloody care) but that doesn't mean it shouldn't be addressed.

Isn't the issue that repeated instances of cousin's marrying increases the chances of health issues for the children?

So a one-off instance isn't that different to two high-risk people who were unrelated, but when you get to multiple generations all intermarry then the issues become more likely to occur?

That's certainly how I've always understood it.

I've only read the first and last page of this thread, but just wanted to point out that this used to be much more common than it is now. I'm from a farming community, and looking (not very far back) through the family tree there are many instances of cousins marrying each other, and I know of cousins of my generation (I'm late 40s) who married each other.

In terms of health problems in children of such marriage, I remember reading not so long ago that the risks are similar to those of "older mothers".

In addition to the evidence re the risks being similar to having a child at 40 plus....

If you make it illegal you tar all existing cousin marriages and children from those marriages with criminality... nice!

Disconnected I'm responding to your comments about unfairly targeting some communities or perceptions of racism. I'm defending why some communities make need additional information/help/choices etc.

I don't think it should be illegal as previously stated. I do think recurrent cousin marriages are a huge problem and restricted to some communities (in general). The consequences may be tragic and preventable.

I have never made any suggestion that it is disgusting or immoral