Tory MP’s bill to ban marriage between cousins is damaging and poses health risk, warn experts

A bill proposing the end to marriage between first-cousins has been criticised by experts ahead of its second reading on Friday.

The Marriage (Prohibited Degrees of Relationship) Bill was proposed by Tory MP for Basildon and Billericay Richard Holden, who said that the practice poses “risks to health, freedom... the cohesion of our society”.

Speaking in December last year, the MP said: “First-cousin marriage raises serious concerns both in the UK and globally.

“Studies show that it is associated with approximately double the rate of birth defects compared to the general population and can reinforce negative structures and control women.”

Professor Neil Small, who co-authored the Born in Bradford study that tracks people’s health in the city and includes the largest body of evidence on children born to cousin marriage in the UK, told the Guardian that the ban could risk a “potential health disadvantage”.

He said a ban could discourage people from getting civil marriages due to the requirement to undergo testing, which could “take away the protection of the law if anything goes wrong.”

Professor Small added: “I think that’s often to the disadvantage of women, and, in that sense, a potential health disadvantage.”

He continued that the issue would be “better dealt with” through more readily available “genetic testing” and education of the risks.

The professor said that the “upsetting rhetoric” from Conservative politicians could deter people from “science-based” approaches which would help them make informed choices when the “single biggest thing that damages children’s health is deprivation”.

He pointed out that while there was “definitely an enhanced risk” for children’s health from cousin marriage, it tended to be in a “relatively small number of people”.

“When it does happen the effects can be severe, producing higher rates of infant mortality and greater levels of illness in some children,” he said.

A spokesperson for Ahmadiyya Muslim Community UK, representing 30,000 Muslins, called the bill “damaging” and said it would “curb fundamental freedoms and stigmatise”.

The charity Karma Nirvana, which works with survivors of forced marriage and honour-based abuse, denounced the bill, instead calling for a “thoughtful, survivor-led approach” informed by “those on the frontlines who understand the profound consequences of these union”.

“[We] cannot support Richard Holden’s bill … not because we condone cousin marriage, but because we believe the true agenda is not to address the harms that can arise from it, but to use it as a tool for political point-scoring, inciting hate and driving a wedge between communities.”

CEO of the charity Natasha Rattu called out “Islamophobic” backlash as a result of the bill and said it was “counterintuitive to anybody affected by the negative impacts of first-cousin marriage, who would surely, on the back of seeing that, be more reluctant to get help if they needed.”

She continued that banning first-cousin marriage and rushing through legislation was “not the best course of action” and people affected by it needed to be consulted before action was taken.