Discussion on 'Is it legal in Texas to marry your first cousin?'

(1) On September 15, 2007 at 3:29 pm Hereticzero [27] said:

A recent study suggested that though the relative risk of birth defects is higher among the offspring of first and second cousins, the absolute risk remains small in societies where inbreeding is rare. The study, published in the Journal of Genetic Counseling in April 2002, found that the risk of birth defects ran about twice as high -- about 6 to 8 percent -- for cousins, compared with about 3 to 4 percent for unrelated couples. In absolute terms, however, that still translated into odds of better than 90 percent that a child will be born without problems, the study found.

If it's legal in your state, go for it.

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