Every human civilization that has ever existed, or that currently exists today, has it’s own social rules. All cultures will clearly state rules, or even make laws, that define who it is acceptable for a person to marry, and to have children with. So, when you read about a situation when an adult woman and her long lost father choose to have a baby together, it makes one very uncomfortable. The kinship terms that apply to this baby make for a very tangled family tree.
I’m not entirely certain if this particular situation could be legally defined as a case of incest, or if it doesn’t match up to the technical details of the law. In general, a sexual relationship that takes place between two people who are close blood relatives is illegal. Regardless, it is a story that I think will make most people cringe, because it violates many social rules about family that our culture holds dear.
A twenty-eight year old woman named Penny Lawrence was raised by her mother in Los Angeles, California. When her mother died, she was raised by her mother’s parents, her grandparents. She was not raised by her biological father, had never met him in person or otherwise, and did not know him at all. After her mother died, Penny Lawrence became intensely interested in locating her birth father.
She managed to track him down. Her biological father is Garry Ryan, who is forty-six, and who is living in Houston, Texas. There is an eighteen year age difference between the two of them. The two claim to have felt an instant physical attraction for each other, which lead to a sexual relationship. Penny is now pregnant with Garry, her biological father’s child.
The two plan on having medical testing done to determine if the baby has any birth defects. When two people who are closely genetically related produce offspring, there is a much higher risk that the child could inherit genetic mutations that would result in a birth defect. If the child doesn’t have birth defects, the two plan on raising the child together.
Let’s take a moment to review the kinship terms that apply to this particular family group. Penny is the daughter of Garry. Garry is the father of Penny. Penny is having a son or daughter, who is, at the same time, her half-sibling. Garry is having a son or daughter, who is also his grandchild. The baby has a mother who is also his half-sister, and a father who is also his grandfather. The baby is great grandchild to Penny’s grandparents. If Garry’s parents are still alive, they could one day visit a baby who is both their grandchild, and their great grandchild, at the same time.
Image by emdot on Flickr