# Is incest legal in Sweden? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 27, 2004, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-incest-legal-in-sweden/266342 "2004-09-27T19:52:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![rhettbutler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e5b9ba/32.png) [@rhettbutler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rhettbutler)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2004, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-incest-legal-in-sweden/266342/1 "2004-09-27T19:52:02Z")
While working on an anthropology paper, I read an essay by Yehudi Cohen, reprinted from the July 1978 issue of _Human Nature_, called “The Disappearance of the Incest Taboo.” He relates the tale of a brother and sister who were raised separately, met as adults, and married and had several children, all without knowing that they were related. So, a low-level bureaucrat going through birth and marriage records apparently discovered that they were full brother and sister, and they were arrested and tried. The trial court found their marriage illegal and voided it, but the Swedish Supreme Court overturned the verdict and declared the marriage legal and valid on the grounds that they had not been raised together. In response, the Minister of Justice appointed a committee to examine the issue of incest, and the committee heard testimony from a professor of psychiatry named Carl-Henry Alstrom, who argued that incest laws are unneccesary because “psychological deterrents to incest are stronger than legal prohibitions.” So the committee recommended that criminal sanctions against incest be repealed. The article ends this part of the discussion by saying “The question will soon go to Sweden’s Parliament, which seems prepared to follow the committee’s recommendation.” Now, I assume that, since this was printed in 1978, the Swedish Parliament has decided on this issue already, but I can’t find anything about it on Google. I know that governments are slow, but _that_ slow? Can anybody help? Are there any references available as to whether or not they actually did decriminalize incest? ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2004, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-incest-legal-in-sweden/266342/2 "2004-09-27T22:27:57Z")
Not specifically germane to your hunt, but a fascinating article I ran across while looking for a cite for you. [Incest in Iceland 1500-1900](http://web.uvic.ca/~becktrus/incest.html) ---
**Author:** ![Charlie\_Tan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/charlie_tan/32/12582_2.png) [@Charlie\_Tan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Charlie_Tan)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2004, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-incest-legal-in-sweden/266342/3 "2004-09-27T23:20:33Z")
No, of course not. The law about criminal acts 1962:700 clearly says: Chapter 6 §6 > [@](#): > > Har någon, i annat fall än som avses förut i detta kapitel, > samlag med eget barn eller dess avkomling, döms för sexuellt > umgänge med avkomling till fängelse i högst två år. > > Den som, i annat fall än som avses förut i detta kapitel, har > samlag med sitt helsyskon, döms för sexuellt umgänge med syskon > till fängelse i högst ett år. Rough translation: Anyone having sexual intercourse with his/her own progeny or grandchild may be sentenced to prison for a maximum time of two years. Anyone having sexual relationship with a sibling for no more tan one year. The law hasn’t been amended. I’ve checked a number of Swedish reference sites and can’t find any reference to the supposed incident. Carl-Henry Alstrom worked in genetics, not psychiatry. [Link to his bio](http://www.btinternet.com/~eyeconditions/alstrom/news6.htm). ---
**Author:** ![t-keela](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a3d4f5/32.png) [@t-keela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/t-keela)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2004, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-incest-legal-in-sweden/266342/4 "2004-09-27T23:29:25Z")
I’m not sure that incest is even illegal in the US. At least not in every state. I realize that it is illegal to marry within a certain proximity. First cousins and closer or something like that. I also know that it’s illegal to have sex with family members that are minors OF course. But to claim that incest between consenting adults outside of marriage. I don’t think that is against the law in most states. I could be wrong. It wouldn’t be the first time, that’s for sure. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2004, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-incest-legal-in-sweden/266342/5 "2004-09-28T01:46:52Z")
**t-keela** , sodomy (meaning not just gay sex, but oral-anal sex between consenting married heterosexuals) is still technically illegal in some states. I’m sure every state in the union has anti-incest laws. It’s just that ordinarily the vice squad isn’t actively hunting for people having incest. Generally the laws are applied when a particular case comes to the government’s attention for some reason. ---
**Author:** ![Walloon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/fbc32d/32.png) [@Walloon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walloon)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2004, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-incest-legal-in-sweden/266342/6 "2004-09-28T03:21:14Z")
First cousins can marry in the majority of the U.S. states. The marriage of first cousins is unresticted in 20 U.S. states and DC. It is permitted in six further states if the bride is above child-bearing age, and a seventh after genetic counselling. For more information, see the helpful folks at [C.U.D.D.L.E. International](http://www.cuddleinternational.org/laws/laws-explained.html) (Cousins United to Defeat Discriminating Laws through Education). ---
**Author:** ![Mathochist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c89c15/32.png) [@Mathochist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mathochist)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2004, 6:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-incest-legal-in-sweden/266342/7 "2004-09-28T06:31:00Z")
> [@Lumpy](#): > > **t-keela** , sodomy (meaning not just gay sex, but oral-anal sex between consenting married heterosexuals) is still technically illegal in some states. Not unless Lawrence v. Texas was overturned and nobody in the media noticed. ---
**Author:** ![t-keela](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a3d4f5/32.png) [@t-keela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/t-keela)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2004, 6:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-incest-legal-in-sweden/266342/8 "2004-09-28T06:44:49Z")
How did this turn into a question about homosexuals? I surely didn’t mean to go there. I am aware that the term sodomy isn’t specific to anal sex or homosexuals. I was simply saying that I am not aware of any **specific** laws against incestual relations between consenting adults, other than those involving minors and/or marriages. If you have any examples I would be interested in seeing them. Not unwritten or implied statutes but actual laws. I’m not aware of any, but I could be mistaken. So, feel free to show me. I’m not one to condone ignorance (or incest for that matter). If I’m wrong I’ll gladly admit it. ---
**Author:** ![Walloon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/fbc32d/32.png) [@Walloon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walloon)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2004, 6:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-incest-legal-in-sweden/266342/9 "2004-09-28T06:57:42Z")
Wisconsin Statutes, 944.06: ---
**Author:** ![Walloon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/fbc32d/32.png) [@Walloon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walloon)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2004, 7:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-incest-legal-in-sweden/266342/10 "2004-09-28T07:07:20Z")
Wisconsin Statutes: > [@](#): > > \*\*944.06 Incest.\*\*Whoever marries or has nonmarital sexual intercourse with a person he or she knows is a blood relative and such relative is in fact related in a degree within which the marriage of the parties is prohibited by the law of this state is guilty of a Class F felony. ---
**Author:** ![Dunderman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ecb155/32.png) [@Dunderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dunderman)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2004, 7:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-incest-legal-in-sweden/266342/11 "2004-09-28T07:10:15Z")
I’d like to add to **The\_Gaspode** ’s excellent summary that the (probably fictional) couple in the original post wouldn’t have been convicted under Swedish law since their crime obviously lacked the requisite of intent. It’s clear that they didn’t know they were siblings, so they didn’t intend to commit incest. ---
**Author:** ![t-keela](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a3d4f5/32.png) [@t-keela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/t-keela)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2004, 7:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-incest-legal-in-sweden/266342/12 "2004-09-28T07:26:53Z")
> [@Walloon](#): > > Wisconsin Statutes: > 944.06 Incest.Whoever marries or has nonmarital sexual intercourse with a person he or she knows is a blood relative and such relative is in fact related in a degree within which the marriage of the parties is prohibited by the law of this state is guilty of a Class F felony. That’s one. Okay, apparently it IS illegal in Wisconsin. How far does it extend? parental, 1st cousin…doesn’t change the fact that you DID cite one. Then you also said: **First cousins can marry in the majority of the U.S. states.** :dubious: You are correct in showing the inconsistency of the US legal system. What’s wrong in one state may be okay in another. That’s pretty much the norm here isn’t it? I can carry a handgun in Texas but I better be damned careful when I leave the state. Thanks. WTF does any of this have to do with the OP? **rhett** I didn’t mean to hijack your thread. It was an excellent question. Sorry about that. ---
**Author:** ![BwanaBob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bwanabob/32/2985_2.png) [@BwanaBob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BwanaBob)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2004, 12:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-incest-legal-in-sweden/266342/13 "2004-09-28T12:07:14Z")
The OP’s question reminds me of an old thread of mine from Cafe Society. I saw a movie (British in origin) about two siblings who were raised apart (the male who was older didn’t even know he had a sister as he had left home not knowing his mother was pregnant). They meet and fall in love and move in together. Slight difference there was they knew they were siblings but didn’t think of each other that way. They get arrested but exhonorated because the judge felt that being raised apart that they weren’t (in their minds) siblings, and they agreed to not have children. Purported to be based on a true story. No one could ID the movie; it’s still a mystery. Good question though. ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2004, 1:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-incest-legal-in-sweden/266342/14 "2004-09-28T13:28:00Z")
[Hijack continued] **t-keela** , I don’t have the chance to look details up right now but _all_ US States or territories have _some_ penal proscription against some form of incestuous conduct, even if not as a separate statute. e.g. a proposed new Penal Code under consideration for my jurisdiction would subsume it into the Sexual Assaults statute, by making the incestuous situation one of those in which it is statutorily defined that consent is invalid. The customary baseline for the incest statutes was sex between two persons who would be forbidden marriage reason of consanguinity. The most common statute these days forbids sex between people in the direct line of descent (blood or adoptive), between siblings (half or full, blood or adoptive), and between aunt|uncle - niece|nephew. [/Hijack] ---
**Author:** ![Mathochist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c89c15/32.png) [@Mathochist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mathochist)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2004, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-incest-legal-in-sweden/266342/15 "2004-09-28T13:48:11Z")
> [@t-keela](#): > > You are correct in showing the inconsistency of the US legal system. What’s wrong in one state may be okay in another. That’s not an inconsistency; it was designed that way. > [@](#): > > Amendment X - The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people. That is to say, other than the stuff we said before that the federal government is in charge of, the states can run things all in pretty much their own way. ---
**Author:** ![Walloon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/fbc32d/32.png) [@Walloon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walloon)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2004, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-incest-legal-in-sweden/266342/16 "2004-09-28T15:16:03Z")
Massachusetts General Laws: > [@](#): > > **Chapter 272: Section 17 Incestuous marriage or sexual activities** > Persons within degrees of consanguinity within which marriages are prohibited or declared by law to be incestuous and void, who intermarry or have sexual intercourse with each other, or who engage in sexual activities with each other, including but not limited to, oral or anal intercourse, fellatio, cunnilingus, or other penetration of a part of a person’s body, or insertion of an object into the genital or anal opening of another person’s body, or the manual manipulation of the genitalia of another person’s body, shall be punished by imprisonment in the state prison for not more than 20 years or in the house of correction for not more than 2 1/2 years. Oregon Statutes: > [@](#): > > **163.525 Incest.** (1) A person commits the crime of incest if the person marries or engages in sexual intercourse or deviate sexual intercourse with a person whom the person knows to be related to the person, either legitimately or illegitimately, as an ancestor, descendant or brother or sister of either the whole or half blood. > (2) Incest is a Class C felony. Kansas Statutes: > [@](#): > > **21-3602. Incest.** Incest is marriage to or engaging in otherwise lawful sexual intercourse or sodomy, as defined by K.S.A. 21-3501 and amendments thereto, with a person who is 18 or more years of age and who is known to the offender to be related to the offender as any of the following biological relatives: parent, child, grandparent of any degree, grandchild of any degree, brother, sister, half-brother, half-sister, uncle, aunt, nephew or niece. > Incest is a severity level 10, person felony. Georgia Statutes: > [@](#): > > **16-6-22.** > (a) A person commits the offense of incest when he engages in sexual intercourse with a person to whom he knows he is related either by blood or by marriage as follows: > (1) Father and daughter or stepdaughter; > (2) Mother and son or stepson; > (3) Brother and sister of the whole blood or of the half blood; > (4) Grandparent and grandchild; > (5) Aunt and nephew; or > (6) Uncle and niece. > (b) A person convicted of the offense of incest shall be punished by imprisonment for not less than one nor more than 20 years. Colorado Statutes: > [@](#): > > **18-6-301. Incest.** (1) Any person who knowingly marries, inflicts sexual penetration or sexual intrusion on, or subjects to sexual contact, as defined in section 18-3-401, an ancestor or descendant, including a natural child, child by adoption, or stepchild twenty-one years of age or older, a brother or sister of the whole or half blood, or an uncle, aunt, nephew, or niece of the whole blood commits incest, which is a class 4 felony. For the purpose of this section only, “descendant” includes a child by adoption and a stepchild, but only if the person is not legally married to the child by adoption or the stepchild. ---
**Author:** ![Gravity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gravity/32/14322_2.png) [@Gravity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gravity)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2004, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-incest-legal-in-sweden/266342/17 "2004-09-28T15:35:38Z")
Hm. I just searched VT Statutes, but other than a mention in the definitions ( § 4912) saying > [@](#): > > (8) “Sexual abuse” consists of any act or acts by any person involving sexual molestation or exploitation of a child including but not limited to incest, prostitution, rape, sodomy, or any lewd and lascivious conduct involving a child. Sexual abuse also includes the aiding, abetting, counseling, hiring, or procuring of a child to perform or participate in any photograph, motion picture, exhibition, show, representation, or other presentation which, in whole or in part, depicts a sexual conduct, sexual excitement or sadomasochistic abuse involving a child. I find no mention of it. Oh, and as of 2000, it is legal for first cousins to marry in VT. ---
**Author:** ![Walloon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/fbc32d/32.png) [@Walloon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walloon)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2004, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-incest-legal-in-sweden/266342/18 "2004-09-28T15:43:16Z")
Vermont Statutes: > [@](#): > > **§ 205. Intermarriage of or fornication by persons prohibited to marry** > Persons between whom marriages are prohibited by the laws of this state who intermarry or commit fornication with each other shall be imprisoned not more than five years or fined not more than $1,000.00, or both. ---
**Author:** ![Gravity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gravity/32/14322_2.png) [@Gravity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gravity)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2004, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-incest-legal-in-sweden/266342/19 "2004-09-28T15:58:02Z")
Ah- HA! Thank you, Walloon, I was very puzzled when I couldn’t find it in there! ---
**Author:** ![FX45\_4Ever](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/4bbf92/32.png) [@FX45\_4Ever](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FX45_4Ever)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2004, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-incest-legal-in-sweden/266342/20 "2004-09-28T16:05:00Z")
I just got married in Hawaii on 9/22, and on the Marriage form there was a check block that asked if we were of blood relations. Apparently full blooded Hawians tend to like to maintian their heritiage (said the clerk)… ewwe :eek: [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-incest-legal-in-sweden/266342.md?page=2)