General Chat

The issue of marriage between cousins in UK is to be discussed in Parliament tomorrow.

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/marry-cousin-law-rules-illegal-b2661131.html

I suspect many of us have come across this situation in our research.

Quote from the article above.........

'Conservative former minister Richard Holden has now called for the ban.

He said such marriages have been linked to a higher rate of birth defects and can also “reinforce negative structures and control women”.

Any thoughts on his views?

As a one off I think it is probably OK but I do think it needs to be stopped when all the children marry ist cousins and their children do the same and so it continues.

I agree namelessone a one off is fine but when you get multiple time then you might get problems my 2 times great grandfather married his cousin and very thing is ok well I had a stroke at birth but I don’t think that was anything to do with that, I also know another family where cousins married and all their children are ok

I think its wrong. I have 1st cousins who married, had 3 children and each one had something wrong with them.

I see my 1st & 2nd cousins as extended family and could not imagine marrying any of them!

My parents are first cousins once removed, and as far as I know bro and I have no health issues. Our parents were brought up in the same town and as extended family mixed a lot in their childhood. Married quite late on though.

When I worked in health services, a lot of Pakistani children had hearing and optical issues, supposedly due to intermarriage. Maybe these are the sort of families the bill is aiming at.

I must admit before I started doing family research I thought it was illegal. Then when doing some research I came across a couple who were 1st cousins and I thought that's s not legal but it was only then when checking I found it was legal :-0. I think it was frowned upon back in the 19th Century and I know the above mentioned couple never had children, now whether that was by choice I have no idea :-0

I think in the Asian community it is quite common especially if the marriage is arranged . I remember reading quite recently some girls of Pakistani heritage but born in this country saying that they would not marry a 1st cousin because of the high risk of deformities in children :-(

There are several instances among my ancestors of cousins marrying.
Fortunately, it didn't seem to result in health problems in their children, as far as censuses, etc, reveal.

I don't see how it could "control women", in Richard Holden's words.
Perhaps I'm missing something?

ArgyllGran, I wondered about that too :-S

My grandmother later married her cousin.
They didn't lose any children in early childhood, indeed although they had a lowly but loving start to life, the 3 daughters all lived well into their 90s with no health concerns during their lives.

Rather than cousins, I would be more concerned with the possibility of half siblings marrying unknowingly if their births had resulted from sperm donors.
Hopefully this is more regulated than in the past, but is every family open and truthful if there have been fertility problems?

I think the problem may occur as mentioned by Names earlier :-0

My great great aunt was interviewed on her 100th birthday, in 1936.

She grew up in a small Suffolk village, and mentions the fact that, at one time there were only 2 or 3 surnames in the village - which led to - as she put it - quite a few 'idiots'.

So possibly okay for one generation, but continually inter-marrying, even 100 years ago, was, it seems, known to cause problems.

A couple I used to work with are cousins but decided not to have children in case there would be problems.