Do you know, marrying your first cousin is illegal in 24 states of the USA. Not only in US but in most of the countries including Britain, UAE and Greece, sexual relations or marriage between a man and a woman who are so closely linked by blood or affinity that such activity is prohibited by law. But the question is Why? Is it a social decision or is there some scientific reason behind it? In this article we have answered all these questions related to why you should not not marry or have sex with your cousin.
The major scientific reason to not marry or make sexual relation your blood relatives is related to genetic science. The genetic science says that mating with a close blood relative passes on bad genes that lead to deadly genetic mutations. Mating with blood relatives increases the chances that your offspring will have a genetic disease like cystic fibrosis or sickle-cell anemia.
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What is Incest?
Incest is a term for the human sexual activity between family members or close relatives. This typically includes sexual activity between people in blood relations, and sometimes those related by affinity (marriage or stepfamily), adoption, or lineage. It is considered immoral in most societies and is strictly forbidden as it can lead to an increased risk of genetic disorders in children.
Such children are born as a result of inbreeding and at a greater risk of congenital disorders, death, developmental and physical disability, and that risk is proportional to their parents’ coefficient of relationship.
As per a study, between 1650-1850, the average married couple was fourth cousins in the US. So, they had the same great-great-great-grandparents, which means they shared 0.20% of their DNA. Not much when you compare it to third(0.78%), second(3.13%), and first cousins(12.5%). Most of the children from the first cousins were born with some genetic disorders as a result of inbreeding.
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While in most of the countries Incest is considered a criminal act, there are some countries like China, India Japan, Russia and Brazil Incest is still legal even though they know the consequences…
