A leading health authority has withdrawn a report that cited supposed “benefits” of first-cousin marriage following widespread backlash.
The UK’s National Health Service (NHS) faced heavy criticism after issuing guidance that some experts said appeared to endorse inter-family unions, despite longstanding evidence linking them to higher risks of birth defects.
The report, titled “Should the UK government ban first-cousin marriage?”, referenced research claiming potential advantages such as stronger extended family support networks and financial benefits, according to The Telegraph.
A leading health authority has withdrawn a report that cited supposed “benefits” of first-cousin marriage following widespread backlash.
The UK’s National Health Service (NHS) faced heavy criticism after issuing guidance that some experts said appeared to endorse inter-family unions, despite longstanding evidence linking them to higher risks of birth defects.
The report, titled “Should the UK government ban first-cousin marriage?”, referenced research claiming potential advantages such as stronger extended family support networks and financial benefits, according to The Telegraph.
In Australia, marrying a cousin is generally permitted under the federal Marriage Act 1961.
The UK and several European countries have similar laws, though the practice is increasingly scrutinized. Medical experts warn that children of first cousins face a higher risk of health complications, according to the BBC.
For reference, the chance of a child being born with a birth defect or disability is around two to three percent for unrelated parents, but this risk roughly doubles to five to six percent for children of first cousins.
The risk of a child being born with a birth defect or disability is about two to three percent for unrelated parents, but this doubles to roughly five to six percent when the parents are first cousins.
While first-cousin marriage is widely considered taboo in Western countries, it remains common in parts of the Middle East, Africa, and Asia. Some cultures that encourage these unions have also been linked to the oppression of women.
The now-deleted NHS article noted that first-cousin marriages have been legal in the UK since the 1500s, citing the example of King Henry VIII marrying his ex-wife’s cousin, Catherine Howard. It also acknowledged that inter-family marriages have long been the subject of scientific debate due to the higher risk of inherited diseases. The report referenced other external factors that can affect pregnancy outcomes, such as alcohol use, smoking, and parental age, pointing out that “none of [these factors] are banned in the UK,” according to Fox News.
Dr. Patrick Nash, an expert in religious law and director of the Pharos Foundation social science research group in Oxford, criticized the guidance as “truly dismaying.”
“Cousin marriage is incest, plain and simple, and needs to be banned with the utmost urgency,” he told The Telegraph. “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.”
“Cousin marriage is incest, plain and simple, and needs to be banned with the utmost urgency,” says Dr. Patrick Nash, an expert in religious law.
In response to the backlash, the NHS has removed the report from its website, after initially defending the research.
A spokesperson for the national health authority clarified: “The article published on the website of the Genomics Education Programme is a summary of existing scientific research and the public policy debate. It is not expressing an NHS view.”
It is estimated that more than 10 percent of marriages worldwide are between first or second cousins, though accurate data is difficult to obtain due to the longstanding stigma surrounding incest-related unions.
Attitudes toward cousin marriage are changing globally. In the United States, Connecticut recently banned knowingly marrying a first cousin, effective October 1, according to the US Sun. Currently, 24 US states prohibit such marriages, while eight states—including Arizona, Illinois, Indiana, Maine, Minnesota, Tennessee, Utah, and Wisconsin—allow them only under specific conditions.
In Europe, Norway banned cousin marriages in 2023, and Sweden plans to implement a similar ban in mid-2026. In the UK, there are growing calls for reform, with the Conservative Party proposing a bill that would outlaw cousin marriage amid public health concerns.
However, some experts argue that such legislation could be discriminatory and culturally insensitive, suggesting that education may be a more effective way to address the declining trend, The Guardian reported.
Currently, 24 US states prohibit cousin marriages, and Norway has also enacted a ban.
Amid the public debate, Faz, a woman from Grimsby in northern England, went public about her relationship with her cousin, Ania, 18.
The couple soon became the target of online abuse, with trolls describing their story as something out of the 1800s, The Sun reported.
Responding to a social media question about how long they had been together, Faz revealed, “Only two months, as we had to keep our relationship quiet because we are cousins.”
In a follow-up post, she added, “As they say, keep it in the family,” accompanied by the hashtag #Relationshipgoals.
Social media users expressed shock at the revelation, calling the relationship “wild” and “shocking” in the comments.
