NHS England says First-cousin marriage has ‘benefits’

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The NHS has been urged to apologise for publishing guidance extolling the benefits of first-cousin marriage despite the increased risk of birth defects.

Guidance published last week by the NHS England’s Genomics Education Programme says first-cousin marriage is linked to “stronger extended family support systems and economic advantages”.

But the practice has also been linked to oppression of women and also has a proven increased risk of genetic disease in offspring of first-cousin relationships.

Richard Holden, the Tory MP, told the Mail On Sunday: “Our NHS should stop taking the knee to damaging and oppressive cultural practices.
“The Conservatives want to see an end to cousin marriage as a backdoor to immigration too, but Labour are deaf to these sensible demands.

“Sir Keir Starmer should stop running scared of the misogynistic community controllers and their quislings who appear in the form of cultural relativist-obsessed sociology professors, and ban a practice the overwhelming majority, from every community in Britain, want to see ended for good.”

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Marrying a first cousin is legal in the UK, but it increases the risk of children inheriting genetic conditions. Health issues such as sickle cell disease and cystic fibrosis are more likely to be carried or contracted in children with parents who are closely related.

Cultures that encourage first-cousin marriage have also been accused of oppressing women and being used as a tool to suppress personal freedoms.

Dr Patrick Nash, an expert on religious law and director of the Pharos Foundation social science research group in Oxford, called the guidance “truly dismaying”.

“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.

“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 guidance points out that the practice has been legal in the UK since the 1500s as a loophole for King Henry VIII to marry Catherine Howard, his ex-wife’s cousin.

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