Verdict: incest remains punishable
The siblings Patrick S. and Susan K. have four children
Thus, Germany remains one of the countries in which sibling love is still punished. Paragraph 173 of the German Penal Code punishes "intercourse between relatives" even if both partners are of legal age and act amicably. The paragraph has long been under criticism: does the protection of an Old Testament taboo justify the threat of punishment?
A well-known justification for the incest ban is that the likelihood of producing children with genetic defects is greater than for couples who are not related. But such an increased risk exists also for unrelated partners with hereditary diseases as well as older partners. Nevertheless, no one would think of forbidding these couples to reproduce. It would be against the Basic Law.
Thus, incestuous relationships have already been decriminalized in many states: France abolished the corresponding paragraph as early as the beginning of the 19th century, followed by Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Spain, Portugal, Turkey, China, Japan, Argentina, Russia, Brazil and the Ivory Coast. In Germany, too, one got rid of some "moral offenses" over the centuries. Adultery and sodomy were decriminalized, the dome parish was abolished, the criminal liability for homosexuality was abolished. Only the prohibition of "bloodshed" remained until today. After the judgment of the Karlsruhe judges, nothing will change in the near future.
Incidentally, scientists assume that there is a natural incest between close relatives, which is regulated by the smell. It also inhibits sexual desire between children growing up together, regardless of whether they are related or not. Close relatives, however, meet late in life, can do exactly the opposite: the desire is all the greater. In fact, Patrick S. and Susan K. first met when she was 16 and her brother was 23 years old. Despite several convictions, they stick to their relationship.
Text: sar; Photo: dpa, March 13, 2008
