Is it legal to marry your first cousin in Michigan
Answers:
No. Marriage between first cousins is prohibited in Michigan. See link provided below for a complete state listing.
Notes from FAQ Farmers:
- If you you do marry your cousin and have children, the possibility for a birth or genetic defect will increase; nevertheless, according to a scientific report, the overall risks are still fairly low.
- In the UK it is currently legal, though there's a chance this could be changed due to how common it is within certain minority communities. However, the increase in risk of birth deformities is really tiny unless the same thing happens repeatedly (i.e. you marry your cousin and then your children marry their cousins, etc): the more times it happens within the same family, the risk will probably increase, but if it's only done once, these risks are much smaller than commonly believed.
- It is not true that cousins who have children will have "retarded" children. That is a stereotype and for centuries in all other countries it was preferred that cousins marry so as to keep families close and to keep money within a family.
- However, if there are any kind of genetic disorder in your family, even many generations ago, you have a better chance of passing that on if you have a child with your first cousin. Most of the boys in European royal families died from hemophilia because of repeated inbreeding in the 18th and 19th centuries.
- Whether it is "right" would be a personal issue and should not be subjected to other people's moral or ethical interpretations. The legal issue is a different matter, there are those states which have specific laws pertaining to such relationships.
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