France makes incest a crime

[Still Waters]

France finally made incest a crime in its own right yesterday – reinstating it into the country's penal code more than 200 years after French revolutionaries threw it out as a "religious taboo".

Until now, incest was lumped together in French law in the category "rape" and "sex abuse", but French MPs have passed a bill specifically singling it out as an offence.

The vote was immediately welcomed by Isabelle Aubry, president of the international association for incest victims, who said: "Before fighting a taboo, one must start by naming it.

Read more...

[aquatus1]

Can't say I'm too thrilled at having a government making laws based on religious taboos.

[Corp]

How is it a religious taboo? It's the Old Testament full of incest?

Anyway good that France finally has this in the books. One only needs to look at royal families through history to see that incest is a bad idea.

[Cadetak]

Although I am of course against the idea of the act...is it not a victimless crime?

[eqgumby]

Can't say I'm too thrilled at having a government making laws based on religious taboos.

Sucks, doesn't it?

Unfortunately, some religious taboos or just human taboos should be a no-no, just like some of these taboos are just social taboos.

So, should incest be a crime, or just a social taboo? Since that's what the article is about, incest being "officially" called a crime, what's your position?

[eqgumby]

Although I am of course against the idea of the act...is it not a victimless crime?

I once read a book that included an extensive chapter on incest "victims". One young lady, whose life was a disaster, had begun having a sexual relationship with her father at about 14 or 15 yrs old. When the young lady was in her late 20's she confronted her father with the impact this had on her life (with a therapist there). Much of HIS defense was that it was consensual, and that she even achieved orgasm during their relationship.

What it really boiled down to, was that they were BOTH messed up. The father though, was an adult, and a PARENT. Parents should be there to help, to guide, to provide mental physical and emotional support, NOT a sexual partner. You can't be BOTH and have a normal or healthy relationship, and that taints all and any relationships you have any where else.

What appeared to be a victimless crime was not. For either of them from what I could tell.

With anything, I am sure there are exceptions to the rule, but in our current society, incest = bad.

[WoIverine]

Incest is a crime, and should be deemed so, religious or not has absolutely nothing to do with the victims of it as well as their suffering.

[Cadetak]

I once read a book that included an extensive chapter on incest "victims". One young lady, whose life was a disaster, had begun having a sexual relationship with her father at about 14 or 15 yrs old. When the young lady was in her late 20's she confronted her father with the impact this had on her life (with a therapist there). Much of HIS defense was that it was consensual, and that she even achieved orgasm during their relationship.

What it really boiled down to, was that they were BOTH messed up. The father though, was an adult, and a PARENT. Parents should be there to help, to guide, to provide mental physical and emotional support, NOT a sexual partner. You can't be BOTH and have a normal or healthy relationship, and that taints all and any relationships you have any where else.

What appeared to be a victimless crime was not. For either of them from what I could tell.

With anything, I am sure there are exceptions to the rule, but in our current society, incest = bad.

Between two consenting adults it is a personal choice that only directly effects the one's who made the choice.

Although your points are valid and most likely fully correct they should not have application in law in my opinion. There are many existing legal relationships that can mess somebody up, there are many choices we make that cause harm to ourselves.

Incest does indeed equal bad but I am not sure it should equal illegal. On a less serious and less extreme scale...eating mcdonalds to the point of obesity is bad and unhealthy although not illegal because it only effects you. Incest only effects the people who made the choice to do the act...it does not victimize anybody else or cause a damage to society or government.

Generally speaking you should be able to do whatever you want as long as doing what you want doesn't effect others from doing what they want. The only restrictions on freedom being that the consequences of your actions do not hinder the freedom of or harm the well being of another unwilling person(and by extension that of society/government)

In your example one of the participants was a child which therefore makes it illegal(or unethical depending on varying age of consent laws) and of course as well as being immoral.

Because this subject is indeed taboo and we would near universally agree on the immorality of it we of course have no real fuss with the act being illegal. But if the logic used here to ban incest was used to support the banning of something else, something less taboo or less universally agreed upon? The argument would not hold

[Bill Hill]

Won't that reduce the population of France?

ah ha ha ha HA!

[Siara]

Can't say I'm too thrilled at having a government making laws based on religious taboos.

I agree. Actually incest does have bad repercussions in terms of birth defects, but so does having kids when you're over 40. Are they going to outlaw that too? I suspect this is simply one more demotion of reason in the legal system.

[conspiracybeliever]

Won't that reduce the population of France?

ah ha ha ha HA!

Maybe that's the plan, to decrease the population.

[eqgumby]

*snip*

Incest does indeed equal bad but I am not sure it should equal illegal. On a less serious and less extreme scale...eating mcdonalds to the point of obesity is bad and unhealthy although not illegal because it only effects you. Incest only effects the people who made the choice to do the act...it does not victimize anybody else or cause a damage to society or government.

*snip*

That is where many would argue the point. You eating McDonald's and weighing 600 lbs does effect others, so far that I may have to pay higher taxes to take care of your obese butt! This type of argument is the same one used to destroy the tobacco industry! I'm not advocating either side. Just playing devils advocate if you will.

[WoIverine]

That is where many would argue the point. You eating McDonald's and weighing 600 lbs does effect others, so far that I may have to pay higher taxes to take care of your obese butt! This type of argument is the same one used to destroy the tobacco industry! I'm not advocating either side. Just playing devils advocate if you will.

Yup, you could even say, "what happens if I get a knee injury when I have to jaws of life you out of that trailer of yours before taking you to the Springer show?" lol

[eqgumby]

Yup, you could even say, "what happens if I get a knee injury when I have to jaws of life you out of that trailer of yours before taking you to the Springer show?" lol

That's right, imagine the fire/rescue crew that saves the obese guys life from the car wreck, but herniates himself in the process? They practice extraction techniques on people up to 300lbs probably, but your 580lb butt cause the fire-man to explode a teste! MORE people effected by your McDonald's inspired physique!

[WoIverine]

That's right, imagine the fire/rescue crew that saves the obese guys life from the car wreck, but herniates himself in the process? They practice extraction techniques on people up to 300lbs probably, but your 580lb butt cause the fire-man to explode a teste! MORE people effected by your McDonald's inspired physique!

ROFL!

[ExpandMyMind]

Won't that reduce the population of France?

ah ha ha ha HA!

aw man. stitches. again!

i just never expect them bill.. they catch me off guard when i'm thinking all serious..

[Goblin-5]

Won't that reduce the population of France?

ah ha ha ha HA!

Naw, after all its illegal in the US and the Republican party is still going strong

[WoIverine]

Naw, after all its illegal in the US and the Republican party is still going strong

Quite a few southern states are democratic ones.

[hetrodoxly]

Incest is relatively boring............................................**********'s dead boring, i'll get my coat.

Edited January 28, 2010 by hetrodoxly

[Alien Being]

I always wanted to marry my cousin.

Dam I missed the chance. Now I'll have to stop doing that to her and find a differant woman to marry outside of the family.

Edited January 28, 2010 by Alien Being

[MasterAdam]

Took them that long to repeal it? Gotta love the French!!!

[Black Red Devil]

Don't know how this will work in some of their smallest territorial possessions like the Islands of Saint Pierre and Miquelon which contain small populations that have been living together since settlement.

[Cadetak]

That is where many would argue the point. You eating McDonald's and weighing 600 lbs does effect others, so far that I may have to pay higher taxes to take care of your obese butt! This type of argument is the same one used to destroy the tobacco industry! I'm not advocating either side. Just playing devils advocate if you will.

So we should regulate and tax incest instead of making it illegal?

Although many substances and action can prove to be damaging to others, society, or government in some way I don't see how incest is.

I do not see how it is the governments responsibility to monitor our deviant sexual acts if the act in question is only breaking a rule of morality and not actually causing any real damage to society.

There has to be a victim in a crime...the person killed, the bank you stole from, the government you didnt pay tax to,...the people who had to deal with the noobs who dont read message board rules Whos the victim in an incest case? if both adults and both consented then there isn't one. If there is no victim why a law?

[eqgumby]

So we should regulate and tax incest instead of making it illegal?

Although many substances and action can prove to be damaging to others, society, or government in some way I don't see how incest is.

I do not see how it is the governments responsibility to monitor our deviant sexual acts if the act in question is only breaking a rule of morality and not actually causing any real damage to society.

There has to be a victim in a crime...the person killed, the bank you stole from, the government you didnt pay tax to,...the people who had to deal with the noobs who dont read message board rules Whos the victim in an incest case? if both adults and both consented then there isn't one. If there is no victim why a law?

The off-spring of closely related partners suffer greater amounts of genetic abnormalities.

Society winds up paying for them.

We regulate society all the time.

It's sort of a non-issue, I just think they made it a "law" as a "Duh, of course it should be illegal" kind of thing.

[Cadetak]

The off-spring of closely related partners suffer greater amounts of genetic abnormalities.

Society winds up paying for them.

We regulate society all the time.

It's sort of a non-issue, I just think they made it a "law" as a "Duh, of course it should be illegal" kind of thing.

Well that would indicate that reproducing through incest should be illegal and not the sex itself(ie. have to use protection)

Should other people who may pass on genetic abnormalities also be banned from having sex/reproducing? For example lets use dwarfism, a condition that has many negative health and development aspects, and if between two dwarfs would almost certainly produce another dwarf.

Of course its a 'duh of course, who cares' type of deal as it has no bearing on 99.99% of the populace but it is still interesting that something can be made illegal with relatively little reason to support its banning.