Possible consequences of marriage between cousins.
Now there is quite a decent amount of information regarding marriage between close relatives. Russian legislation does not allow marriage only with first-degree relatives: brother and sister, guardian and child. Regarding second-degree relatives, the Law regulates and allows marriage. In this article we will talk about marriages between first and second cousins.
Can first and second cousins get married in Russia and other countries?
At the legislative level, no one will be prohibited from entering into an alliance with their second- and third-degree relative. But there is a law according to which siblings cannot sign. This is regulated at the legislative level, as it is associated with the possibility of children being born with disabilities, as well as genetic diseases.
It is because of this that unions between siblings were prohibited. But the registry office does not require any documents regarding kinship. Accordingly, you can come to the registry office and enter into this kind of union. But if it turns out that you are really brother and sister, then the marriage will be considered invalid.
Marriages between relatives
In eastern countries, a similar practice occurs, and quite often people from the same family, as well as close relatives, marry each other. This is due to saving the family budget. Because in eastern countries it is necessary to pay a huge ransom for the bride. In order to save money, many organize weddings between cousins or second cousins.
In the United States, unions between first cousins are prohibited. However, what is at play here is not a medical point of view associated with the risk of children being born with deformities, but rather social reasons. In our country there is no ban on unions between first and second cousins.
Sister and brother
Expert opinion
University of Massachusetts professor Hamish Spencer said that to date, not a single genetic study has given a positive answer that marriages between first cousins pose a great risk to the unborn child. Moreover, it is quite difficult to conduct truly independent and correct research.
The thing is that consanguineous marriages in the civilized world are rather an exception to the generally accepted rules. More than 80% of these babies are born in third world countries. There, consanguineous marriages are quite common. In these disadvantaged countries, the percentage of children with physical disabilities is much higher than in other countries. Therefore, it is almost impossible to give an unambiguous answer as to why the baby is not like everyone else (due to the environment, poor nutrition, poor quality medicine or close family relationships).
Is marriage possible between first and second cousins: genetics, consequences
As practice shows, the closer the relationship, the higher the chance of having unhealthy children who subsequently cannot produce offspring. According to studies, it was found that if there is a close relationship, then in 24% of cases a stillborn child may be born, in 34% of cases the baby dies at an early age, the risk of deformities is very high, it is 48%. But this is only the case if two siblings get married.
Research in this area is quite extensive, and the most interesting thing is that, according to scientific research, the risk of having a sick child with a cousin is only 2% higher than the risk of having a deformed offspring in people who are not related in any way. Accordingly, the risk of having a sick baby in such a family is even lower than in women over 40 years old, as well as in families of people who regularly abuse alcohol.
If you are worried about the birth of an unhealthy child, we advise you to contact a geneticist for a special examination. During the examination, blood is taken from two relatives and common diseases are identified, as well as the risk of giving birth to sick children.
Indeed, in some cases it is easier to prevent the birth of a sick child than to suffer for the rest of his life. Moreover, modern medicine is making every possible effort to reduce the population of handicapped children.
Wedding
There is a special formula that allows you to calculate the risk coefficient for the birth of sick children. I agree with research, as well as these calculations, that the likelihood of having healthy children is very high.
Statistics:
- From the connection of a niece and uncle, the percentage of a healthy baby is about 92%
- If cousins enter into a union, then in 93% of cases they will give birth to absolutely healthy children
- Between second cousins, the percentage of births of a healthy child is 95%
- This is exactly the percentage of healthy children that appears in an ordinary family, which is in no way connected by family ties. Accordingly, if first cousins or second cousins get married, the risk of having defective offspring is negligible.
According to these studies, there is absolutely no reason to worry about genetics. If you want to calm your nerves, you can go for a genetic examination.
Unusual wedding
Facts in the history of marriages between relatives
Yes, indeed, there is a risk of giving birth to a child with genetic pathologies, and also some serious diseases. But this risk is not so great, it is only slightly higher than for people who are not relatives.
Interesting Facts:
- Pushkin is the son of his uncle and his second cousin.
- Charles Darwin married his cousin. Moreover, this family had 10 children, three of them died at a young age. The rest of the children were absolutely normal and achieved enormous success in social activities.
- Cleopatra was a daughter born in a marriage between two siblings. The most interesting thing is that in Egypt such unions were not prohibited, and were even welcomed. It was believed that such a race would be the healthiest, purest, and such unions were encouraged in every possible way. The queen was a very beautiful woman, and also preferred connections with her relatives.
- Greta Scacchi was a sex symbol of the 80s. She met her cousin Karl, and he could not resist the girl’s beauty. They entered into a legal marriage and had a son. Later, the incident caused a huge resonance among the public. Because of this, Gretta's career ended. But the son in this family was born absolutely healthy.
- The most interesting thing is that Einstein had a second cousin, Elsa, who later became his wife. As practice shows, sick children are indeed born between siblings, and the risk of genetic deformities is very high. This is actually true, which is why many countries prohibit siblings from marrying, Russia is no exception.
Turkish wedding
Saddam Hussein
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The former Iraqi president was a brutal dictator with many wives, one of whom, Sajida Tulfah, was his cousin. Hussein was a major figure in Iraq, ruling with extreme ruthlessness and allegedly responsible for the deaths of more than 250,000 people. In 2006, he was sentenced to death by hanging.
How does the church view family ties?
As for the attitude of the church, as well as society, everything is much more complicated here. The attitude of religion towards such unions is somewhat different, depending on religion.
Church attitude:
- In our Orthodox Church, the relationship between cousins used to be considered absolutely normal, and such couples actually got married. After communism came to power, the situation changed significantly. Now, for some reason, such unions are considered sinful, and lovers are not married. Accordingly, the Orthodox Church considers life and marriage between cousins to be a sin. No one in our church will marry such a couple.
- As far as the Quran is concerned, marriages between uncle and niece, cousins, and aunt and nephew are indeed absolutely legal.
- In the Catholic Church everything is ambiguous. Cousins can get married here absolutely normally. In the Protestant Church there are generally no restrictions on unions between first cousins, and marriages between uncle and niece and aunt and nephew are also permitted.
- In Germany, it is a criminal offense for children to be born between siblings. But here there is a risk of the possible birth of sick children, for whom the state is obliged to provide payments.
Marriage between relatives
Woody Allen
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During his rich career, Allen has worked with a huge number of actors, including Diane Keaton, Sean Penn, Leonardo DiCaprio and Scarlett Johansson. He received four Oscars and the Cecil B. DeMille Award for outstanding achievement in film. But the director has plenty of haters, mainly thanks to his relationship with his own stepdaughter, Soon-Yi Previn, to whom he is still married. There is a 35 year difference between the spouses.
Is marriage possible between first and second cousins: the attitude of society
There is a very large denial of such unions among the ordinary population. Society still has a negative attitude towards such kinship and considers it something indecent or even incest. Although in fact, from a medical point of view, the risk of having sick children is very low in the case of marriage between first and second cousins. Of course, the situation is twofold, because siblings can live close to each other and give birth to healthy children who will communicate quite closely with each other.
Accordingly, in such relationships between cousins, truly family ties arise. There can be no talk of any marriages. But there is a situation where a brother and sister live in different cities and communicate quite rarely. Accordingly, in such cases, when cousins and second cousins meet, feelings may arise between them. Because, in fact, they communicated very little, and there are no family ties between them. They don't feel like family.
Marriage between relatives
Indeed, in our time, people are not yet ready for same-sex marriages, nor for unions between brothers and sisters, even between first and second cousins. In any case, most of these families try not to disseminate information, so as not to observe the negative attitude of friends and neighbors.
Kevin Bacon
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Everyone knows Kevin Bacon, because since his debut in “Menagerie” in 1978, the actor has been actively acting and has appeared in such major projects as “Apollo 13” and “Footloose.” He starred in so many films that there was even a game called “Six Steps to Kevin Bacon”, in which you had to find a connection between Bacon and any other actor in no more than 6 transitions. But Bacon had no idea that he and actress Kyra Sedgwick were connected by something more than marriage—ties of blood. The couple, who have been married for almost 30 years, are relatives in the 9th generation. This was discovered by Henry Louis Gates on the TV show Find Your Roots.
