Cousins' marriage highlights relationship controversy

[Gunit_Sangh]

Where are those damn sanctity of marriage folks?


Tuesday, April 5, 2005 Posted: 10:37 AM EDT (1437 GMT)

PITTSBURGH, Pennsylvania (AP) -- It began as the kind of childhood crush that often becomes family lore shared at reunions years later.

Eventually, first cousins Donald W. Andrews Sr. and Eleanore Amrhein realized they had a deeper love and wanted to wed. It couldn't happen in their home state of Pennsylvania, though, or 23 other states that prohibit first cousins from marrying each other.

Instead, they tied the knot in Maryland last month.

"This is a decision me and my husband have made on our own. We never thought of it being publicized," said Eleanor Andrews, 37. "We didn't want the publicity. We wanted the rights like anybody had the rights."

Rest of story
http://www.cnn.com/2005/US/04/05/cousins.marriage.ap/index.html

[prodigal_green]

1. sanctity of marriage meets

family values?

They don't believe in science anyway, so why should the genetic risks these people are taking mean anything to the right wing?

[asthmaticeog]

2. Actually, as it turns out,

genetic risks from first-cousin offspring aren't much significantly higher than you'd get from any two random people from the population. It's spawning with yr siblings and parents that gets you the goofy kids.

[etherealtruth]

3. Though Prince Charles leads one to believe otherwise...

.... your post states the facts as I understand them "scientifically". I've obviously been well socialized by our culture because I am even uncomfortable agreeing with scientific fact...

[asthmaticeog]

8. With the British Royal Family,

you're talking about numerous generations coming from a relatively narrow pool, like a small island tribe (which, come to think of it, the BRF actually is). It doesn't compare to a first-generation child of one isolated first-cousin union. Now, ten generations of cousin marriages all in a row, sure, you're going to get some bad teeth, among other things, but royalty isn't an apt comparison here.

I know what you mean about socialization, though. When I saw the OP, I reflexively thought of Appalaichian inbreedeing stereotypes, even though one of the states that recognizes such unions is New York.

[etherealtruth]

10. It was a tongue in cheek comment n/t

[asthmaticeog]

12. Ooops. Apologies!

My snark detector needs some calibrating, it seems. :hi:

[etherealtruth]

13. I guess my ego insisted that I let you know...

...that I wasn't a moron. Maybe I proved I was ;)

[prodigal_green]

9. I didn't know that!

So, what is the reason for the prohibition of first cousin marriage? Interesting...

[JHB]

5. What risks?

We're not exactly dealing with a highly-inbred royal line here. Are the risks between cousins significantly greater than between people in general?

If I remember correctly, the bigest risks are for direct parent-offspring pairings, followed by sibling-pairings. Beyond that, the odds are in the same ballpark as the general population, except maybe where breeding has been kept "in-house" in too small a population for too long.

This mostly comes from animal breeding, but we'll include assorted royal families just for the fun of it.

[maxsolomon]

4. my husband & i

you wouldn't say "this is a decision me made on my own", would you?

incest does not excuse poor grammar.

[Snap]

7. Thas Rite

We thunk and thunk til are heds hurt an weall thunk thas a fine ol thang that we do it cuz we luv jebus an we luvs oursel an sinetist sez its okedoke.

[NYCGirl]

6. Apropos of nothing, Rudy Giuliani's first wife was also his second cousin.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2005/02/13/EDG9CB8VOF1.DTL

[FreedomAngel82]

11. Oh wow

I didn't know that. :silly: