The United Kingdom’s National Health Service (NHS) has come under fire for potentially prioritizing cultural sensitivity over significant health concerns after it published a report last week questioning a major issue of public debate — should first-cousin marriages be banned?
Debate over the issue heightened earlier this year after U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer said he would not ban the practice outright, despite known risks to future generations, as children born from first cousins are at increased risk for diseases like sickle cell disease and cystic fibrosis.
Starmer, along with members of his Labour government, has argued that education should be prioritized instead of overreaching government mandates.
The article, which was posted to the NHS’s Genomics Education Program’s website and titled, ‘Should the UK government ban first-cousin marriage,’ had been removed by Monday morning, and Fox News Digital could not gain direct access to the report, nor did the NHS immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s questions.
According to U.K.-based media outlets, the article caused some uproar after it suggested there were certain ‘benefits’ to first-cousin marriages, including ‘stronger extended family support systems and economic advantages,’ the Telegraph reported.
The NHS report also noted that inter-family marriages have ‘long been the subject of scientific discussion’ due to the increased risk of inherited diseases, and that first-cousin marriages have been legal in the U.K. since the 1500s, when King Henry VIII married Catherine Howard, his ex-wife’s cousin.
First cousin marriages are also not federally banned in the U.S., where the practice is still permitted in 20 states.
The article also noted that there are risks of genetic disorders related to other external factors like alcohol use during pregnancy and smoking. The age of the parents can also impact certain disorders.
The report pointed out 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 posted last week, drew rebuke from conservative Tories like Member of Parliament Richard Holden, who accused the Labour government, headed by Starmer, of ‘taking the knee 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 say, ‘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 Daily Mail 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 said, according to the Daily Mail.
The Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, Wes Streeting, who oversees the NHS, did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s questions for this report.
Proponents of the ban in the U.K. tend to be conservative Tories, while Labor officials have argued the ban insensitively targets certain cultures, like British Pakistanis, where in-family marriages are more common.
Starmer’s cabinet office directed Fox News Digital’s questions to the Department of Health and Social Care, who did not immediately provide comment for this report.
Holden also could not be immediately reached for this report.
