Incest is illegal in many countries to avoid multiplication of genetic defects in the population.
It is not really that big a problem if birth control is used.
But because of the risk of multiplication of defects it has also become socially unacceptable to many.
That is why many European societies decriminalised it - France in 1810, then Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, and Portugal. It is also legal in Turkey, Brazil and Japan. In Britain, by contrast, the law banning incest was extended to cover step-siblings in 2002. It remains illegal elsewhere, including Germany.
But it can also improve genetic make up, but genetic screening is still not perfected.
It is not really that big a problem if birth control is used.
But because of the risk of multiplication of defects it has also become socially unacceptable to many.
That is why many European societies decriminalised it - France in 1810, then Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, and Portugal. It is also legal in Turkey, Brazil and Japan. In Britain, by contrast, the law banning incest was extended to cover step-siblings in 2002. It remains illegal elsewhere, including Germany.
But it can also improve genetic make up, but genetic screening is still not perfected.