近亲联姻真的有那么可怕吗?

That view may have to change. A comprehensive study published recently in the Journal of Genetic Counseling indicates such children run an only slightly higher risk of significant genetic disorders like congenital heart defects--about two percentage points above the average 3％ to 4％. Says the study's lead author, Robin Bennett, president-elect of the National Society of Genetic Counselors, which funded the study: "Aside from a thorough medical family history, there is no need to offer any genetic testing on the basis of consanguinity alone".
这种观点可能必须改变。最近发表在《遗传学咨询》杂志上的一份综合性研究表明近亲婚姻所生的小孩患上主要遗传性疾病如先天性心脏缺陷的可能性只比一般小孩略高--大约比平均的3％到4％高出两个百分点。全国遗传学顾问协会为此项研究提供了资金。罗宾·贝内特是此项研究的主要作者，也是该协会已当选、但尚未就职的主席。据他说，“除了需要一份详尽的家庭病史之外，没有必要仅根据有血缘关系这一条理由就进行任何的基因测试。”

Publication of the study will do more than tweak public awareness; it will enlighten doctors who have urged cousin couples not to have children."Just this week, " says Bennett, "I saw a 23-year-old woman who had had a tubal ligation because her parents were cousins and her doctor told her she shouldn' t have children." The study cites the case of "Amy", who had been in a relationship with her cousin for two years when, in 1996, she became pregnant. Her doctor suggested an abortion, and after a fruitless search for more information, she had the procedure. This week Amy wrote to the cousincouples.com website that she planned to get many copies of the report--"one that I will personally deliver to my ex-gynecologist."
此项研究的公开发表将不仅会扭转公众对这个问题的认识，它还将促使那些力劝近亲夫妻不要生育的医生摆脱偏见。贝内特说：“就在本周，我遇见一位23岁的妇女，她刚做过输卵管结扎手术。原因是她的父母属近亲结婚，她的医生告诉她不应该生育孩子。” 研究报告中还引用了有关“艾米”的例子。她曾与表兄保持了两年的婚姻关系。1996年，她怀孕了。她的医生建议流产。在四处咨询无果的情况下，她遵从了医生的建议。这一周，艾米写信给近亲夫妻网站说她打算多准备几份报告的复印本，并将亲自送一份给她从前的妇科医生。

The American proscription against cousin marriages grew in the 19th century as wilderness settlers tried to distinguish themselves from the "savage" Indians, says Martin, author of the book Forbidden Relatives: The American Myth of Cousin Marriage. "The truth is that Europeans were marrying their cousins and Native Americans were not."
美国人对近亲婚姻的排斥源自19世纪，原因是早期的拓荒者试图将自己同“原始的”印第安人区分开。《违禁姻亲--美国近亲结婚之谜》一书的作者马丁说：“真实的情况是欧洲人当时在近亲通婚，而印第安人却没有。”

And doesn' t God have stern words on the subject? Christie Smith, 37, a Nevada writer, says she felt guilty when she fell in love with her first cousin' s son Mark. "I was trying so hard to convince myself not to have these feelings, " she recalls, "that I went to the Bible looking for confirmation that it was wrong. And what I found was the exact opposite: support for cousin marriages." The patriarch Jacob married two of his first cousins, Rachel and Leah.(The Roman Catholic Church has opposed cousin marriages for more than a millennium but gives dispensation to couples considered worthy.) Smith married Mark in 1999; this year she founded a group called CUDDLE- Cousins United to Defeat Discriminating Laws through Education. wrong.
上帝对此是否有严厉的谴责呢？一个来自内华达州的37岁作家克里斯蒂·史密斯说当她爱上表兄的儿子马克时她自感有罪。她回忆说：“我努力地说服自己不要有这种情感，所以我求助于圣经，希望证实这是错误的。但是我发现了正好相反的例证。”族长雅各布娶了他的两个表妹雷切儿和莉尔。（罗马教会1000多年以来一直反对近亲结婚，但是对于它认为是相配的姻缘却给予特许。）史密斯于1999年与马克结婚；今年她创立了一个名为“通过教育手段改变近亲婚姻歧视法”的组织。

As for Paul and Donna, they are doing fine. Their son, 9, and daughter, 8, are well adjusted and academically gifted. Still, the parents are protective of their family secret. (They declined to have their real names used for this story.) "When our kids started school here, " says Donna, "I told them, 'You don' t have to hide this from anyone. But you don' t need to go advertising it.'" The medical ban is lifted; the social stain may take longer to disappear.
至于保罗和唐娜，正过着美满的生活。他们9岁的儿子与8岁的女儿身心健康，学业优异。然而，作为父母，他们对自己的秘密是守口如瓶（他们要求本文隐去其真实姓名）。唐娜说：“当我们的孩子开始上学时，我告诉他们：‘你们没有必要刻意对他人隐瞒什么，但也没有必要到处去大肆宣扬。’”从医学角度讲，禁令是解除了；但要消除社会上人们对近亲姻缘的歧视还需要更长的时间。