Thursday, February 10, 2011

Is incest unethical or immoral, or both?

Was reading about how medical ethicists are considering what to do when DNA tests show that an individual is the result of incest.  Apparently Baylor has been using new DNA testing diagnostically for the past six months, and have so far come across "under 10" cases of DNA evidence pointing to incest.

That's pretty shocking in itself, but what stood out for me, is that while having sex between first-relatives is illegal, in Texas it is a misdemeanor and is often ignored if both people are adults. This is to say that incest is okay in Texas, if it involves two consenting adults.

And therefore, the question is, should sex between first-relatives be unethical, or is it merely immoral?

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