United States | All in the family

Cousin marriage is probably fine in most cases

It is also illegal in 25 American states

Illustration of a couple kissing with similar features in a sea of DNA ribbons.
Illustration: Ryan Gillett
|WASHINGTON, DC

IT JUST SEEMED so wrong. In January Nick Wilson, a Kentucky state legislator who achieved reality-TV fame for winning “Survivor” in 2018, created a frenzy on social media when he sponsored a bill that removed “first cousin” from the list of incestuous family relations. Mr Wilson said that the omission was a mistake and the bill was quickly withdrawn. The new draft put “first cousin” back on the list of criminal sexual relations, alongside parent, sibling, grandchild and other blood relatives.

Explore more

This article appeared in the United States section of the print edition under the headline “All in the family”

From the February 17th 2024 edition

Discover stories from this section and more in the list of contents

Explore the edition

Discover more

A container ship sails as the sun sets in Bayonne, New Jersey, United States.

Does Donald Trump have unlimited authority to impose tariffs?

Yes, but other factors could hold him back

Special Counsel Jack Smith delivers remarks on a recently unsealed indictment including four felony counts against former U.S. President Donald Trump.

As Jack Smith exits, Donald Trump’s allies hint at retribution

The president-elect hopes to hand the justice department to loyalists



Donald Trump and Tulsi Gabbard are coming for the spooks

The president-elect’s intelligence picks suggest a radical agenda

Matt Gaetz withdraws from consideration as America’s attorney-general

Will the Senate be brave enough to block Donald Trump’s other outlandish nominees?