Can half brothers and sisters marry?

Question

i was just wondering because my friend said she's marrying her half brother (they have the same dad)(personally i think it's a bit wierd but they fell in love before they found out they were slightly related) but they said they might have to move out the country. is it legal anywhere?

Answer 1

Not in the US, that's DISGUSTING, and it will lead to inbred, deformed children.

Answer 2

No, it's illegal in almost all states.  It's incest.

Answer 3

Slightly related? I have 2 half brothers and I consider them MY BROTHERS wether we only have the same dad...I'm not "slightly" related to them, we came from the same MAN. That's just gross, it's illegal and even if it wasn't your friend would still have mental issues.

Answer 4

Marriage between half-siblings is not generally legal in the western world. However, let us lay to rest some of the hysteria regarding the genetic risks of such a marriage.

First, the level of consanguinity between half-siblings is about 25%, the same as for first cousins who CAN legally marry in most places. Second, the incidence of negative recessive traits in the gene pool is not so high that such a level of consanguinity would automatically result in "obvious abnormalities" -- nor, indeed, in any abnormalities under most circumstances. Third, the level of shared genetic code in the overall population is such that anyone who does carry a negative recessive trait could marry a completely unrelated person and still run the risk of that trait manifesting in their children -- the probability is lower than with a consanguineous marriage, but still exists. And fourth, not all recessive traits are negative: equal probability exists that any positive recessive traits will be reinforced by a consanguineous marriage.

We now return to your regular schedule of  "eeww" and "ick".

Answer 5

you can get 7 years in prison for insest in the uk

Answer 6

thats ****** up

i herd there are places? google it

Answer 7

No. I dont think thats a good idea at all.  

Answer 8

NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Answer 9

I certainly HOPE not!!!!

Answer 10

Thats not good to marry half brother, Blood related.

Do they live in Virginia?

Answer 11

Thats disgusting! I have a few half brothers and sisters but I see them as full brothers and sisters, so thats just sick! Hopefully she is lying!!

Answer 12

Half brothers and sisters are not slightly related.  they are related.  I mean think about it...are you and your aunts and uncles and cousins and grandparents only alightly related?  no and half siblings closer related then that.  I don't know of anywhere it is legal...hopefully it isnt.  yuck.

Answer 13

Besides being completely disgusting, I would recommend they don't marry and have no children.  The children would be exposed to all of their father's recessive gene traits and the children would be more prone to abnormalities.

Answer 14

IF there is common DNA...

then... No.

Answer 15

You can research that online (which I would do because answers here regarding the legality won't be real reliable...I've seen many here post that cousins marrying is illegal/incest and it's neither, although in half the US states first cousins cannot marry, in the other half and most countries in the world any cousins can).

I don't know if it's legal but it wouldn't surprise me if it wasn't. There would be some genetic risks if they had kids, but if it's legal (or legal where they go) and they are willing to take those risks, it's their karma.

Not an appealing situation at all though...ugh.

Answer 16

That's incest, and in case your friend doesn't know it, that's freaking disgusting!!

Answer 17

No.  In most of the world, two people who share the same parent by blood or adoption cannot marry legally.  If they are both adults, they can only live together (it's perfectly legal). However, they can't legalize the bond.  I do not know of any countries that have exceptions to this as sibling marriage is frowned upon by all the major religions (although not a sin).

edited to add: Aspasia has said most of it regarding inheritance. The likelihood of genetic defects is only 1-2% higher than the general population.

Answer 18

Ewww. No. Thats, thankfully, illegal.

Answer 19

That's insane.  Hopefully their children will still be able to lead normal lives despite their abnormalities and the embarrassing nature of their existence.  It's like saying I fell in love with my father before I found out he was my real father, but I'm going to marry him anyways...