I think the genetic risks of first cousin consanguinity are far lower than one would initially think. The real problem occurs when there's multiple generations

I think the genetic risks of first cousin consanguinity are far lower than one would initially think. The real problem occurs when there's multiple generations of 1st cousin consanguity - the likelihood of concentrating recessives, etc increases in subsequent generations. In fact, I believe historically speaking, there's a very large precedent going back centuries for first cousin marriages (resulting in offspring) and as far as I know, it's not illegal anywhere in the USA. Here's an article dated back in 2002 that discusses the genetic risks: http://www.nytimes.com/2002/04/04/us/few-risks-seen-to-the-children-of-1st-cousins.html http://www.nytimes.com/2002/04/04/us/few-risks-seen-to-the-c...