The National Health Service (NHS) has faced scrutiny for potentially prioritizing cultural sensitivity over significant health considerations after it released a report last week that explored a major public debate: should marriages between first cousins be prohibited?
Discussion surrounding this issue intensified earlier this year when U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer stated he would not impose an outright ban on the practice, despite acknowledged risks to future generations, as children born to first cousins are at an elevated risk for conditions such as sickle cell disease and cystic fibrosis.
Starmer, along with members of his Labour government, has argued that education should take precedence over extensive government mandates.
The article, titled “Should the UK government ban first-cousin marriage,” which was posted on the NHS’s Genomics Education Program’s website, had been removed by Monday morning. Digital was unable to gain direct access to the report, and the NHS did not immediately respond to Digital’s inquiries.
According to U.K.-based media outlets, the article caused considerable controversy after it suggested certain “benefits” to first-cousin marriages, including “stronger extended family support systems and economic advantages.”
The NHS report also noted that inter-family marriages have “long been the subject of scientific discussion” due to the increased risk of genetic conditions, and it mentioned that first-cousin marriages have been lawful in the U.K. since the 1500s, when King Henry VIII married Catherine Howard, his ex-wife’s cousin.
Marriages between first cousins are similarly not federally prohibited in the U.S., where the practice remains permitted in 20 states.
The article further indicated that health risks can also be linked to other external factors like alcohol consumption during pregnancy and smoking. The age of the parents can likewise influence certain disorders.
The report highlighted that “none of these factors are banned in the U.K.”
“Genetic counseling, awareness-raising initiatives and public health campaigns are all important tools to help families make informed decisions without stigmatizing certain communities and cultural traditions,” the article added, according to the Telegraph.
The article, first published last week, drew criticism from conservative Tories such as Member of Parliament Richard Holden, who accused the Labour government, led by Starmer, of “submitting to damaging and oppressive cultural practices.”
“The Conservatives want to see an end to cousin marriage as a backdoor to immigration too, but Labour are deaf to these sensible demands,” he told the Daily Mail.
Similarly, Conservative Member of Parliament Claire Coutinho took to X on Monday to state, “The NHS puts conditions on IVF by age, BMI and history of conception. The NHS tells you (a lot) not to smoke or drink during pregnancy. But the NHS won’t say a word against cousin marriage.”
The report also noted that the NHS article said in first-cousin marriages the increased risk of being born with a genetic condition was “small.”
“In the general population, a child’s chance of being born with a genetic condition is around two to three percent; this increases to four to six percent in children of first cousins. Hence, most children of first cousins are healthy,” the article stated, according to the Daily Mail.
Wes Streeting, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, who oversees the NHS, did not provide an immediate response to Digital’s questions for this report.
Proponents of the ban in the U.K. are typically conservative Tories, while Labour officials have argued the ban insensitively targets specific cultures, such as British Pakistanis, where marriages within the family are more common.
Starmer’s cabinet office directed Digital’s questions to the Department of Health and Social Care, which did not promptly provide comment for this report.
Holden was also not immediately available for comment for this report.