A health agency has come under criticism from experts for a controversial report that highlighted the ‘benefits’ of marriages between first cousins, which some have described as promoting ‘incest’.
The National Health Service (NHS) in the UK recently published a paper discussing the potential advantages of marrying within the family. However, following a public outcry, the blog was removed and the NHS issued an apology.
Initially posted on the NHS England’s Genomics Education Programme website on September 22, the article suggested that first-cousin marriages could provide ‘stronger extended family support systems and economic advantages’.
Remarkably, one expert cited in the paper defended its content. Professor Sam Oddie, a neonatologist at Bradford Teaching Hospitals, stated to BMJ: “My reading of the blog is that the content is extremely uncontentious and very substantially factually based. I’m unaware of the reasons why the blog was taken down.
“I don’t consider that any of the comments that have been made in response to it in the media are in any way reasonable or grounded in fact.”
The Born in Bradford study, one of the largest medical trials of its kind, indicates that children from first-cousin marriages face a heightened risk of speech and language difficulties.
Between 2007 and 2010, parents of over 13,000 babies participated in the trial, with researchers tracking the children’s development closely. Notably, more than one in six of these children have parents who are first cousins, largely from Bradford’s Pakistani community.
The study showed that offspring from first-cousin unions have a reduced chance of reaching a good stage of development compared to those from unrelated families and tend to see the doctor more frequently.
Furthermore, it was found that the likelihood of being born with a birth defect is twice as high for children with first-cousin parents compared to those with unrelated parents.
In the UK, marrying a first cousin is legal, while in the US, 19 states permit it, 24 states prohibit it, and others impose conditions such as age or sterility requirements.
Despite its legality in the UK, Dr Patrick Nash, a religious law expert and director of the Pharos Foundation social science research group in Oxford, criticized the practice as ‘incest’. He condemned the NHS for its ‘truly dismaying’ guidance.
“Cousin marriage is incest, plain and simple, and needs to be banned with the utmost urgency – there is no ‘balance’ to be struck between this cultural lifestyle choice and the severe public health implications it incurs,” he told the Telegraph.
“This official article is deeply misleading and should be retracted with an apology so that the public is not misled by omission and half-truths.”
The NHS has been approached for further comment.