A senior Conservative MP has called for the UK to ban marriages between first cousins amid concerns over birth defects and the structures being used to control women.
Former government minister Richard Holden, the member of parliament for Basildon and Billericay, will table the Marriage (Prohibited Degrees of Relationship) Bill to the House of Commons this week for further consideration.
While marriage laws in Britain prohibit the consecration of some familial relationships by the state, such as siblings and parents with their children, no law prevents the marriage of first cousins.
Speaking to The Telegraph, the MP said: “People already think it is illegal and then are surprised when you mention it isn’t.”
Holden remarked that cousin marriages not only increase the rate of birth defects but also can be used as a means to “reinforce negative structures and control women.”
“Many nations and states have taken action on this issue in recent years and it is time for us to do the same,” he said.
The Conservative politician also noted that cousin marriages tend to be more prevalent among certain minority groups within the UK.
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Patrick Nash, director of the Oxford-based Pharos Foundation research institute, has said that the consanguinity rate — or marriage between close relatives — is between 40 and 60 per cent within the British Pakistani community.
While trends appear to show instances declining, the relatively high proportion of cousin marriages within Pakistani communities across Britain, compared to the national average of less than one per cent, remains a cause for concern.
Nash noted that inbreeding has been linked to “increased susceptibility to various cancers and infectious pathogens such as hepatitis; greater frequencies of birth defects including facial clefts and cardiovascular conditions; increased risks of various psychoses such as mood disorders, schizophrenia and Alzheimer’s; higher infant mortality rates; and depressed I.Q. scores on an individual and national level.”
In response to calls to ban cousin marriage in Britain, Justice Minister Alex Davies-Jones said: “Placing restrictions on first-cousin marriage would require changes to the Marriage Act 1949 and potentially the Sexual Offences Act 2003.
“We are aware that all aspects of weddings, including first-cousin marriage, are important issues. We will take the time as a new Government to properly consider our marriage law, including the Law Commission’s 2022 wedding report, before publicly setting out our position.”
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