christie

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Posts by christie

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  36

  Marrying a cousin

  by A_Revelation in

  1. social
  2. family

  i was wondering if this is seen as wrong in the eyes of jehovah and wether it would produce unusual children.

  i was just interested.

  also wether it is legal in britian (where i live).

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  christie

  if there is a history of genetic disorder in the family tree, then yes, more than one generation of cousin marriage could dramatically increase the risks for each generation that did so. but recessive genetic disorders don't just spontaneously appear in a family tree. although genetic mutations are possible, a recessive condition STILL requires inheriting the same mutated gene from each of your parents. so in general, the only second-generation cousin marriages that have a dramatic increase of risk is if the mothers or fathers of the two first cousins were identical twins.

  however, in some countries where marrying a cousin or other relative (i.e. aunt, uncle, etc) is the preferred cultural standard, it can be quite a different story. in those countries, there have been consangunieous marriages for generation after generation after generation... in those cases, the genetic similarity between two first cousins is usually much, much closer than their biological kinship. those cultures do have a much greater incidence of birth disorders, partly due genetics, but also influenced by a number of other factors. for more information on how and why some cultures have more birth defects, check out www.consang.net.
• 
  36

  Marrying a cousin

  by A_Revelation in

  1. social
  2. family

  i was wondering if this is seen as wrong in the eyes of jehovah and wether it would produce unusual children.

  i was just interested.

  also wether it is legal in britian (where i live).

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  christie

  I'm not a JW, but I have been asked the question about the JW perspective on cousin marriage a number of times. I'm still looking for the answer.

  I can, however, answer a number of other questions. Yes, you can marry your first cousin throughout Europe.

  As for birth defects, there is a background risk of 3% that applies to all of society. First cousins have an additional risk of up to 2.8%. But to put that into perspective, you have to understand how genetic defects occur.

  The offspring of first cousins are at higher risk for recessive disorders. Recessive gene disorders are the least common cause of birth defects. It requires that each parent carry an identically defective gene at the same location in the DNA. If both parents are not carriers of the same defective gene, the child is not at any increased risk.

  Understand, everybody carries recessive genes. The question is whether they are harmful or not. For instance, if a couple who both have brown eyes produce a blue eyed child, it is the result of a recessive gene. If a couple both carry a gene for Tay-Sachs disease, this would be an example of a harmful condition for which their child would be at an additional risk. In general, if there is no family history of a recessive gene disorder in the MUTUAL family branch (which accounts for most of us) then the child would have the same chance of inheriting a birth disorder as the child of two unrelated people.

  By the way, I noticed someone brought up Hemophilia in the Royal family. Hemophilia is not recessive, it is x-linked (or gender linked). The prominance of Hemophilia is in no way a result of cousin marriages. I know, my 5th grade textbook said otherwise too... but genetic science has disproved this theory and most textbooks no longer associate the risk with consanguinity. It was a disease carried by the females and passed on to the males. Any female carrier has a 50% chance of passing it down, regardless of who she marries.

  A number of factors are much more likely to cause birth defects in children. For examples: a mother who smokes cigarettes is just as likely to have a disabled (mentally or physically) child as first cousins; a teenage mother is three times more likely; a woman over the age of 35 is thirty times more likely; and a woman over the age of 40 is 100 times more likely to have a disabled child.

  If you take a look at the website www.cuddleinternational.org (Cousins United to Defeat Discriminating Laws through Education) you'll find information on the following topics as follows:

  Overview of genetic risks: http://www.cuddleinternational.org/genetics/overview.html

  Comparison of birth disorders and their causes: http://www.cuddleinternational.org/genetics/birth-disorder.html

  US states that allow cousin marriage: http://www.cuddleinternational.org/laws/law-index.html

  Detailed explaination and comparison of US Laws: http://www.cuddleinternational.org/laws/laws-explained.html

  International Laws: http://www.cuddleinternational.org/laws/international-law.html

  Judeo Christian Perspective: (other religious views available from the menu) http://www.cuddleinternational.org/religion/biblical.html

  Survey for public opinion: (please take the time to look over some of the site's information before responding!) http://www.cuddleinternational.org/interact/generalsurvey.html

  Survey for cousin-couples: http://www.cuddleinternational.org/interact/cousinsurvey.html

  The site also has petitions, a chat room and message board, information to make couples more comfortable with telling the family, resources, brochures, and more. The site's purpose is to raise public awareness, educate others about these marriages, and initiate change in discriminating laws. It is also approved by a number of experts in the medical, educational, and religious professions, including a Canon (Catholic) Lawyer. (Catholics can marry cousins provided they apply for permission from the diocese.)

  Edited by - christie on 8 August 2002 17:8:51