| There are very few genetic issues with cousins marrying. And two people who may have been raised on two completely different continents, or even in two different towns, likely have no familial feelings for each other. |
It’s worked out well for people for hundreds of years. |
What? Is it now politically incorrect for the general population in the USA to be disgusted by 1st cousin marriages because they are common in the Middle East and India? All states need to remove 1st cousin marriage. What's next? FGM ok to celebrate diversity? https://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/detroit/2021/09/16/female-genital-mutilation-network-jumana-nagarwala/8357697002/ We had ancestors who came here and nobody ever married cousins. Just never happened and people stopped doing that when? We 're retired and DH and I only ever met one married couple who were cousins. Same for my parents. It was the same couple. They came here from the ME. None of their kids, my peers, married cousins-1st, 2nd or any relative. Cycle broken. So a friend of DH and spouse were from India- very happy here especially because he [great guy and brilliant] was from a lower caste and the family went ballistic because she wanted to marry him. That was despite them both living and working in the USA which is where they met. |
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The bottom line is that it is often safe to have children with your cousin, but doctors do recommend genetic counseling for prospective first cousin parents.
We know that the risk of Down’s syndrome increases with advancing maternal age, but there are no laws urging mothers to have children younger. |
| I married my first cousin- we were raised on different continents and I only met him when I was 16. I was raised in the US but I fell in love with him. Our kids are fine. It is what it is. |
Middle East, and from OP post, apparently India. Wasn't Roosevelt married to his cousin? |
| Im Indian (Brahmin) and have some cousin or uncle neice marriages in my family tree. It shouldnt be done. It has resulted in some birth defects. One reason this happens is the obsession with caste, and also sexism. |
| Closer consanguineous relationship such as a double first cousins couple may be given a higher risk for their offspring which may be estimated at triple the rate of birth defects in the general population. |
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Would anyone knowingly take a medication that has double or triple the risk of causing permanent brain damage?
With better transportation, communication and globalization, people have a wider choice for breeding partners, makes no sense to take the risk anymore. |
At 16? |
Honestly, I think this is a slippery slope. As a PP said, all sorts of genetic abnormalities and other developmental disorders go way up with maternal (and paternal) age. People willingly take those risks all the time, often in service of capitalism. At least this risk is being taken for love. |
They also don’t know each other well. |
Sometimes love but mostly arranged marriages and family pressure. |
No, lol. I first met him when I was 16. We married in our 20s. My parents were less than thrilled, actually. Our life is lovely, but I don’t tell anyone that we are cousins. |
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This is interesting.
“Genetics of first-cousin marriage families show how some are protected from heart disease” https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/04/170412132402.htm |