Would the legalization of adult incest increase its rate of occurrence?
Yes, because there are a lot of sick ignorant people in this country.
There are a lot of uneducated, sick, poor, immoral, and ignorant people in this country. This topic is generally sick in nature to start with. I do believe that there are people in this country who would prey on people who are not in their right mind, who may suffer from some sort of mental incapacity, and would be taken advantage of, if the laws were changed that protect these family members now. And, in my opinion, this question is immoral to start with.
Posted by: SlipArnalIf society condones a wicked thing, that thing is likely to be viewed as more commonplace.
Some laws that society has are like taking a stance. They set standards for what is right and what is wrong. Incest is looked upon as a wicked thing. If it were no longer illegal, over time, this may change slightly. An increase in activity would not happen overnight, but as time goes on, it would likely become more commonplace.
Posted by: DizzyCaseyLegalization of adult incest would increase the incidence of incest by reducing the stigma of incest and prevent women from escaping non-consensual relationships.
Authorities would be less able to intervene to help incest victims. The stigma of incest would be lessened if it was legal. Incestuous people would be free members of society.
Posted by: EmmeAngurisLegalization of anything morally wrong usually leads to an epidemic of it.
Look at gay marriage rights. Gay people have never been so high. Look at minority "rights", and how they are abused. Look at legal marijuana and its abuse. Every case of the speed limit getting lifted higher gets slapped in the face when people drive even faster over the new limit, going over the limit again. Give them an inch, and people will take a mile.
Posted by: OvalKurtis26Yes, the legalization of adult incest would make it more common because it would remove one of the major deterrents to such relationships.
Making adult incest legal would remove one of the only methods of punishment the government has to stop the act of incest. The social stigma against incest would remain, but it would not have the same effect as the act being illegal. The increase in cases of incest would not be huge, though, because most people willing to practice incest do it in secret and care little for the laws about it.
Posted by: H_Bairdyes by legallizing incest will increese the incidents
If poligamy was to be ligalized i think alot of men would
prefer to have a young by their side and the old lady will be left at home.This implies that a lot men and women
would profer their daughter,brothers and sisters at home
instead of going out to spend money on somebody son
or daughter.Posted by: AnonymousProbably Just A Little Bit
Generally, people feel a natural aversion to sex or romance with close family members. But there are probably people out there who fall in love with their brother or sister or cousin or parents or adult children, etc... but turn away from them because 1. sex with them is illegal and/or 2. They can never be open about their relationship.
But it should still be legal. Adult incest is a victimless crime. The arguments against it are rather poor. There is an increased rate of recessive genetic illness because relatives tend to have similar genetics but it's not a 100% chance of an illness. Yet in cases where two people have the exact same recessive genetic illness not only can they have sex they can get married and have children even though those children have a 100% chance of inheriting the illness. Banning adult incest but allowing that is hypocritical, and the more taboo nature of incest means it's more likely the couple would avoid biological reproduction in the first place.
The other argument is that there is usually a power difference. Typically this also exists if one partner particularly the wife stays home. Should housewives be illegal? What about BDSM?, that tends to involve a huge difference in power. Adults can choose for themselves whether or not they enjoy the consentual relationships they are in. If you decide there is a power imbalance but you're OK with it as long as there is no domestic abuse just one partner tends to make most of the decisions that's a lifestyle choice and that's fine. If you're not OK with it, you are free to divorce. The only people we're 'protecting' this way are people who might suddenly realize over a long period of time that they aren't OK with it and deep down never were. But people make mistakes like that all the time. That's life. Emotional management is personal responsibility, not government responsibility.Posted by: MasturDbtor
You can't legislate morality.
People will do what they want to. Those who wish to engage in this sort of activity
already are doing it. Most of us don't want to do this, and we won't suddenly get the
desire if it is made legal. It takes two to tango in this sort of activity.Posted by: AnonymousLegalization of adult incest would not increase its rate of occurrence since the law is not an effective deterrent for these relationships.
In order to show this link between the legalization and increased rate of occurrence, researchers would need to prove that adult incestuous relationships were deterred because of the risk of prosecution under law. I believe that this would be very difficult to prove.
Posted by: taichooLegalization would not prevent adult incest as it is already very secretive.
When two adults engage in incest they are usually extremely cautious about keeping it secret. They know that if it were to come out it could be the end of relationships within the family. If incest became legal there wouldn't be much of a change as people already regard incest as a terrible act so there would still be consequences.
Posted by: J Navarro 62I think most people disprove of it, legalizing it would not change peoples point of views.
Just because it is legalized will not encourage people to try do it. I think most people have strong feelings regarding the subject that won't change because it is legalized.
Posted by: AverageHoward86No, it won't increase it, because if people want to do it, then they'll do it anyway.
Just because something is illegal, it doesn't mean people will not do it. I have heard of people going to different states where they don't do blood tests before marriage and getting married to their cousin. If two people want to be together, then they will, no matter if the government or society looks down on them.
Posted by: deceitfulxAn increased rate of occurrence is only a small problem compared to health concerns when discussing the legalization of adult incest.
I do not think there would be high-rise in numbers of people committing incest as adults if it were to become legal. The main concern with incest, as it always has been, is the increased rate of birth defects amongst offspring of incestuous conception. This is the main reason it is illegal, as it rightfully should be. Religious people preach the concerns of it being morally wrong but I am inclined to look more thoroughly at the genetic ramifications of incest. Incest should remain illegal because of its health related issues, not because of a concern for an increased number of occurrences.
Posted by: BrianDjLegalizing adult incest wouldn't chance the rate of occurrence because people don't get caught anyway.
What people do behind the privacy of their own doors is very difficult for the police to detect. People that do commit adult incest are going to do it regardless of what laws there. People who have no interest in adult incest aren't going to do it just because the government says it's okay to.
Posted by: 54ndDaviMaking adult incest legal would not increase its occurrence as it is still contrary to human nature.
Legalization of adult incest would not make it more common. Those who would carry on an incestuous relationship are not presently deterred by the fact that it is illegal. The overwhelming balance of people find incestuous relationships to be repulsive and would not be affected by an act to make it legal.
Posted by: ZxcutieGeorgLegalizing incest would not increase its rate of occurrence, because I think most people are disgusted by the idea of it either way.
Incest of any kind has always been a frowned-upon behavior. Whether or not incest is legal, it will have little effect on its rate of occurrence. People are well aware of the dangers of incest, and I would think most of the population is disgusted by the idea. There is probably no need to consider the legal implications of incest, as people would not favor it under any condition.
Posted by: TedieDelightLegalization of adult incest would not increase its rate of occurrence.
I think incest is more of a moral issue as opposed to a legal issue. Most people would agree that incest is morally and ethically wrong. The fact that it is illegal, I feel, has nothing to do with the rate at which it occurs. Incest between to consenting adults, no matter what the relationship, to most is not acceptable. Besides the enforcement of the law is one of inability. If two consenting adults want to perform the act of incest who is waiting in the bedroom (or wherever)to stop them? Therefore I feel the morality is really what stops people from incest, not the legality.
Posted by: w00tboycomicLegalization would remove the taboo
People that practice incest either do so because they love each other or they do so because of the taboo nature of it. By removing anti-incest laws and allowing people to be open about their thoughts on incest it would remove the taboo and in doing so remove one of the two reasons people engage in incest. Legalization would reduce incest if anything while allowing the public to see just how many people do commit incestuous acts. The numbers being surprisingly high but how high is unknown because of the laws and public opinion keeping people from coming forward.
Posted by: AnonymousI don't believe the legalization of incest would raise its occurrence, since it is already an established taboo in society.
Incest has been a taboo in civilized societies since time immemorial. I'm not sure what the legalization of it would be hoping to accomplish, but, I don't believe that it would lead to an increase in the incidence of incest. It is already a strongly-ingrained taboo and, as such, would probably remain rare.
Posted by: BrownDustin82Good grief, I hope not, this is horribly immoral and sick and bad for the gene pool.
No, I don't think legalizing adult incest would increase the frequency of it. Most people know right from wrong, and in this case, most people wouldn't even ever have thoughts about having sex with a member of their immediate family. Most minds don't even have thoughts like that. There are more than just the moral considerations to think of here. Genetically, any offspring produced from such a pairing has a high chance of abnormalities. People aren't designed to have intimate relationships with their immediate family members.
Posted by: PinkMychNo to abuse yes to loving relationships.
The death sentence has never reduced instances of murder in any society,nor has the abolishion of the death penalty increased murders. Laws have ways been about punishing those who do not conform to accepted behavior. The long struggle the gay and lesbian community have had ,to become partly accepted in many cultures , demonstrates the point.
Posted by: AnonymousThe legalization of adult incest would not increase its occurrence, because it is so taboo in our culture.
Legalizing adult incest would not increase its occurrence, because the illegality of incest is not the strongest force preventing it. Culturally, incest has a strong stigma in every social group in America, and in many world religions. The taboo against incest is so strong across cultures that it features in literary works going back through the centuries, such as the ancient Greek story of Oedipus, who was doomed in part because he slept with his own mother. This taboo would continue to prevent those tempted to engage in incest from doing so if it were illegal. Furthermore, such "domestic" crimes are already very sporadically prosecuted. Even violent domestic crimes, in which there is a victim who might be motivated to bring the crime to the attention of the police, very rarely result in convictions. It is therefore reasonable to assume that a crime like consenting adult incest, where there may not even be a party to complain, would have even lower rates of prosecution. So the law is not a very strong incentive not to commit incest today.
Posted by: 5h4tDuinThe legalization of adult incest would not increase the rate of its occurrence, because people do it anyway.
Legalizing something like adult incest would have almost no affect on society. It's about as silly as legalizing sodomy in some countries and states. It's a largely unenforced law. To prove my point, legalizing marijuana would most likely not increase its use, as mostly everyone who uses it does so anyway.
Posted by: RayEar