Incest should not be illegal.

My argument is not based on reproductive grounds. My argument is that there is no argument against incest. There's nothing for me to argue against. I show how reproductive grounds alone is not justification to prohibit incest. I simply show the argument against these grounds as a way to begin the debate. My argument is that you can't counter the reproductive argument I laid out. 1. "Accidents happen all the time. " et cetera I have responded to this. The family should be ready to have the child tested, Should have themselves tested, And be prepared for an abortion if necessary. The risk of First-Degree (parent+child or brother+sister) incest babies having defects is 20-36% (stanford press). This percentage is roughly halved each degree you get away, Until it is practically nil. Going back 4-5 generations in most people's families we can see cousins having married each other. This was fairly common practice not too long ago, And still is in many places. The normal rate of defects among babies, At least in the US is around 3-4% (CDC stats, Journal of genetic counseling stats, Et cetera) Abortion is not murder. Murder is defined as illegal killing. Since abortion is legal, Abortion is simply killing. The vast majority of society believes abortion is justified, Particularly the earlier on you have an abortion. The logical conclusion is generally when brain waves begin to occur, And even this is a grey area. Incest couples, More than any other couple ought to be careful of this and use sterilization or the most effective means of contraception. You say accidents happen, But accidents don't happen if you take the proper steps. Now, You ask for evidence of couples with high risk that aren't policed, Whose relationships aren't taboo or even questioned by many. A mother that is a carrier of hemophilia leads to a 50% chance the son will have it, And 50% chance of daughter being a carrier. Downs Syndrome females are largely still fertile with a 35-50% chance of passing on their trait. This is with an otherwise normal, Healthy person. The risk factors for a large number of other problems outside of just downs syndrome is much higher. In reality, Their risk of passing on traits we deem defective is equal to or larger than first-degree incest pairs. Yet we police them not at all. Let's go beyond that. A downs syndrome couple mating has a 100% chance to produce a downs syndrome child. This is not illegal. Most people would hardly frown on it, Yet the risk of passing down a defect, Probably multiple, Is certain. You cited something near this, Though not with a great degree of accuracy, Immediately after you asked for evidence. The taboo associated with incest - the sex, Not even the reproduction - is unjustified to a tee when we allow this to happen and we have no problem with it. There's an argument to be made that so long as downs syndrome or people with other defects are allowed to reproduce, Incest pairs should be allowed to reproduce. I'm not even making that argument. It puts a bad taste in my mouth to see anyone have kids and not be prepared to abort if the child has defects. Particularly when I don't think a fetus prior to brain activity is worthy of moral consideration. I have a separate debate about this if you'd like to see my views flushed out. 2. Your issues with gay sex. I don't care. The rest of the readers don't care. Gay sex is perfectly natural (it occurs in nature plenty) and harms no one any more than any other relationship. You personal qualms, Be they religious or feeling-based matter not at all to this discussion. 3. Your last paragraph. Your whole paragraph states that sex is not merely for reproductive purposes but for many other purposes as well. Entertainment, Closeness, Et cetera. Which is exactly why incest should be legal. Believe it or not, Some family members love each other deep enough to commit to each other. There are probably more out there than we think. These people are forced into hiding. They themselves cannot think of a reason they shouldn't be together. So they are. You can't think of a reason they shouldn't be together, Yet you feel this strongly about it. Shouldn't our taboos in society have legitimate arguments behind them? Trust me, I'm way more against people having genetically defective children than you will ever be. I can't find an argument for the people at risk (people with downs syndrome, Illnesses that run in the family, Incest) having children when sterilization, Contraception, Or abortion are all options. We live in a reality where we are all having sex with relatives of some sort, No matter how distant. If you'd call first cousins incest, Second cousins incest, Third cousins incest, Where do you draw the line where it stops being incest? The closer you are the more likely you are to have defects, But even with a random partner with just the right recessive genes, You may end up having a higher percent chance to have defective children. These people mating are not against the law and they do. Some get to their third child before they decide to stop having kids. There is no legal problem with this scenario. These people have higher risk than first-degree incest pairs. You may be this unlucky. So here we stand, With you giving no legitimate arguments against it besides the one I've already answered. Here we stand with your whole last paragraph supporting my position. Here we stand with a societal taboo we don't justify. How would you feel if you fell in love with someone, They fell in love with you, And I said you couldn't be together for no reason? That people everywhere you go would shun you without being able to explain why they were doing so? I submit you would like an explanation too. So I ask for yours. May your thoughts be clear, -Thoht