It Has Been Known For Years That It Is Unsafe To Marry One's First Cousin, But With The Large Influx Of Such Pakistani Marriages Now In This Country, Should It Be Made Unlawful?

[anotheoldgit]

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/health/children/11723308/First-cousin-marriages-in-Pakistani-communities-leading-to-appalling-disabilities-among-children.html

[pixie374]

It is already legal to marry a first cousin here.

[pixie374]

...so no, it's safe.

[Old_Geezer]

Risk decreases with distance on the family tree. First cousins are barred (I think) in some places and accepted in others. I think here it is merely frowned upon.

[EDDIE51]

It is against UK law and church law. These marriages are only recognized by sharia courts. There are other problems with these marriages such as polygamy , divorce , financial provision.

[mikey4444]

I don't know if it is legal or not to marry a first cousin, although its sounds a bit unwise. But I am not sure why we should make this a law, just because of some Pakistanis that live in Britain ?

[Bazile]

Here are some 1st cousin marriages

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Endogamy_in_the_British_monarchy

[pixie374]

It is legal, Eddie.

[sandyRoe]

Such marriages also offer a way to enter the UK legally.

[anotheoldgit]

Here we have groups of children taken around supermarkets by their carers, I don't know if you have witnessed similar? but unfortunately the vast majority of them are Asian or black children with disabilities.

[anotheoldgit]

Baroness Flather, seems to think that there is a problem.

[jno]

it's possible to be disabled without your parents being related, though.

[bazwillrun]

Yes....Baroness Blather...how ?...why ?
Yet another trolley full of problems caused by these people and their culture !
Nothing like a bit of inbreeding
But like a lot of things these people want we will no doubt bendover and comply with one way or another...perish the though we dont do what they want

[EDDIE51]

OK i was wrong I though 1st cousin marriage was illegal. But I would take a heavy bet that some of these Pakistani marriages are actually between brothers , uncles, aunts, sisters.

[EDDIE51]

Jno read the link 'such marriages usually have 4 or 5 children and 2 will have a disability. That is way ahead of the normal.

[keyplus90]

Disability and cousin marriage has nothing to do with each other. I have seen many people with disabled children and they are not even of same race let alone cousins.

However, having said that I must admit that yes it is a problem in Kashmiri people mainly and is a cultural issue. And the other problem is that Baroness is of Indian origin.

[keyplus90]

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

[naomi24]

^...an update from the same newspaper....


http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/health-news/marriage-between-first-cousins-doubles-risk-of-having-baby-with-lifethreatening-birth-defects-8686232.html

[jno]

Eddie, what I was getting at was that aog said he had seen disabled children being taken round supermarkets. I argued that this wasn't necessarily linked to cousin marriages among Pakistanis. It may just be disabled children being taken out for the day.

[EDDIE51]

i agree jno , but the link says that such Pakistani cousin marriages frequently have 4 or 5 children and 2 of them are often disabled . That is a terrible thing to live with and so unnecessary, just due to ignorance.

[New Judge]

“Disability and cousin marriage has nothing to do with each other. I have seen many people with disabled children and they are not even of same race let alone cousins.”

Your logic is flawed, keyplus.

Showing that not all disabled children are the result of close relative marriages does not demonstrate that close relative marriages do not produce disabled children.