My parents are against my double first-cousin marriage

The Express Tribune, a major daily English-language newspaper based in Pakistan, has an advice column called "Ask Asad".  A man wrote in asking whether he should marry his double first cousin.  On average first cousins share about 12.5% of their DNA, so double cousins share 25%.  This is equivalent to half-siblings or an uncle or aunt.

I am in love with my cousin and want to marry her. She loves me too and wants the same, but our families are against it because she is my double first-cousin.

Her mother is my father’s sister and her father is my mother’s brother. My family really likes my cousin but when they got to know that we are in love with each other, life has been tough for us and especially for her.

You can legally marry your first cousin in Australia

On August 15, ABC had an article about cousin marriage in Australia:

Although it may not be palatable for some, did you know it is legal to marry your first cousin in many states in Australia?

"According to the Marriage Act of 1961 [cousins] can marry," Genealogy SA's Beryl Schahinger told ABC Radio Adelaide's Afternoons program.

The Act, last amended on October 21, 2016, states:

23.2 — Marriages of parties within a prohibited relationship are marriages: Between a person and an ancestor or descendant of the person; or Between a brother and sister (whether of the whole blood or the half-blood)

"You can also marry your niece or nephew or your aunt or uncle," Ms Schahinger said.

Currently, the Act states marriage is "the union of a man and a woman to the exclusion of all others, voluntarily entered into for life".

Is it Legal To Have Sex With Your First Cousin?

Lifehacker Australia posted an article about the legality of cousin romance:

In other words, you can't marry a direct ancestor or descendant or a sibling. But there is nothing there about preventing marriage between cousins.

And because marriage implies consummation, and there is no other law that prohibits this, what we can conclude is that sex between cousins is also completely fine here in Australia.

It's worth noting that this law also doesn't prevent sexual relationships or marriage between aunts, uncles, nieces or nephews.

So regardless of how anyone might feel about it, you're legally in the clear when it comes to getting down with your cousin, so long as the parties involved are of legal age and have consented to the relationship.

Man takes lie detector test to prove he is not cheating on his cousin

A man appeared on The Jeremy Kyle Show with two of his cousins because one of them accused him of cheating on the other one:

A JEREMY Kyle guest who is dating his cousin was forced to take a lie detector test on today’s show after claims he had been cheating on her.

Avril appeared on the talk show with her boyfriend and family member Macauley after her sister Paige accused him of sleeping with other women.

When it came to the lie detector results, it appeared that he had been telling the truth and hadn’t cheated on Avril.

My cousin is pregnant with my baby after a drunken night of passion

The Sun has a column from Dear Deidre on May 29th about a man who got his cousin pregnant:

My cousin was staying over and I had given her my room but I decided to get some kip on my bed too (it’s a double) as I wanted a good night’s sleep before my flight the next day.

She went to the bathroom to undress and came back completely naked and climbed in next to me. I felt really awkward but she soon changed the mood and started asking me if I was OK.

She said she was going to miss me very much, then leaned over and kissed me on the lips. One thing led to another and we had sex. It was good even though we were both drunk.

Help! I Couldn’t Resist My Female Cousin, Now I Am Afraid of Being Caught

On May 8th, Information Nigeria posted a confession of a man in a relationship with his cousin.  Apparently they censor the word 'sex':

At the last minute my oldest cousin, who is 17 and was meant to be going to a party, said she did not feel well so she would not go after all.

The moment the others had gone she came into my bedroom and put her arms around me. She said she loved me and wanted me more than anything in the world. Common sense told me I should not respond but I did.

We kissed and got into bed and had s*x. We had to be as quiet as we could so as not wake the little one. But that made it all the more exciting. Since that evening we have had s*x whenever there has been an opportunity.

Finally, A Good Reason To Marry Your Cousin

Medical Daily has an article from April 13, 2017, about some people in Pakistan who are missing a key gene linked to heart disease:

Marrying your first cousin might raise a few eyebrows, but it also comes with some surprising health benefits. A new study suggests that first-cousin marriages could offer some protection against heart disease.

Scientists from universities worldwide have been working with the Center for Non-Communicable Diseases in Pakistan to collect blood samples from around the country. In a small fishing village on the coast of Pakistan, where first-cousin marriages are common, researchers found a small group of people were missing the APOC3 gene. This gene helps regulate metabolism and lipoproteins associated with heart disease in the body. People who were missing the gene had low triglyceride levels, and did not experience an increase in plasma triglycerides after a fattening meal, which is what usually happens.

How Safe Is It to Date a Cousin?

A woman wrote to Henry Louis Gates Jr. to ask his advice on dating a distant cousin.  In his answer he also addresses first cousin relationships:

For instance, as of 2012, first-cousin marriages were illegal in 25 American states and restricted in six others (e.g., allowable among people who are both over the age of 50, and presumably unable to reproduce).

Occasionally on my genealogy TV series on PBS, Finding Your Roots, guests have found unexpected cousin marriages in their family trees. [A]ction star Michelle Rodriguez learned that her Puerto Rican forebears preferred to marry first cousins in order to preserve a high degree of European ancestry (and lighter complexions) in their offspring.

Cousin marriage figured into the life of Henrietta Lacks, the black woman whose cancer cells were taken in 1951 without her knowledge and later used in the development of many medical breakthroughs. Lacks, whose life will be depicted this month in an HBO film starring Oprah Winfrey, had a child at age 14 by her first cousin David “Day” Lacks, whom she later married.

As for your situation, we asked genetic counselor and DNA consultant Brianne E. Kirkpatrick to weigh in. She told us the following in an email:

First cousins share a small amount of DNA inherited from a set of grandparents that they have in common. It is possible the shared DNA might happen to contain the same marker for a genetic condition, thus cousin couples can have a higher chance of pregnancy loss or a child born with special health needs.

The baseline chance for a birth defect or other special health needs in any child is around 2-3 percent. Having parents who are first cousins bumps that risk to 4-6 percent.

Cross-cousin marriages among the Yanomamo found to benefit grandparents

Phys.org has an article about the Yanomami tribe in the Amazon rainforest on the border between Venezuela and Brazil:

Cross-cousin marriage is where cousins from opposite sex siblings are wedded, generally as part of an arrangement between the parents of the cousins, who are, of course, siblings. As the researchers note, it is more common than parallel cousin marriages in cultures around the globe, though it is not known why. In South America, a group of indigenous people called the Yanomamö live in over 200 villages, which adds up to approximately 35,000 people. Researchers have studied them to learn more about their culture, which includes arranged marriages. The researchers with this effort were interested in cross-cousin or consanguineous marriage, and what benefits it might provide.

I'm in love with my cousin

The Standard, a newspaper in Kenya, has an article with a woman asking for advice on her cousin:

I need your advice on something I am going through.  I am 24, my cousin is 30 and we are in love with each other.  The problem is that we know this may not end very well especially if our families get to know what is going on.  He is very romantic, handsome and he spoils me a lot whenever we are together.  Whenever we decide to end things, we always find a way back together and it has really proven difficult to end the relationship.  We cannot seem to let go of each other. {Elizabeth}

All of the responses are negative.