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Evening Standard
Evening Standard
Politics
Jane Kirby

Wes Streeting demands apology over NHS claim first-cousin marriage has ‘advantages’

The Health Secretary has called for an apology after an NHS website suggested there are benefits to first-cousin marriage, despite the known increased risk of birth defects.

An article on NHS England’s Genomics Education Programme website last week – which has since been taken down – outlined the risks but said first-cousin marriage is linked to “stronger extended family support systems and economic advantages”.

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