Yes, incest laws are largely ridiculous in the modern world. Sexual abuse/rape/etc is covered by other laws anyway, so it really only affects consenting adults, which, I'd say, is nobody's business but their own.
Even the argument about children is shaky at best: there's plenty of genetic issues one can have that arguably are much worse and have a higher probability of popping up in your kids and nobody's outlawing those people from having kids.
Basically all feels fairly hypocritical.
What about the "grooming" argument that incestuous relationships, even between family members similar in age, are often the result of the older party pressuring the younger party all the way into adulthood? The best argument I've heard for incest laws is that they're a preventative measure against possible abuse by a parent or sibling. Considering the power family members have over each other, there might be some things still left to consider. (I think it's fine between consenting adults most of the time, so it shoudn't be illegal)
On a related note, I feel the stigma against cousin marriage is totally ridiculous and only exists due to misinformation about birth defect rates.
last edited at Dec 20, 2017 11:12PM