INCEST SHOULD NOT BE A CRIME in Western Societies, according to the German Ethics Council (GEC).
Section 173 of the German Criminal Code which forbids incest should be repealed, according to the GEC which issued this statement: “Incest between siblings appears to be very rare in Western societies according to the available data but those affected describe how difficult their situation is in light of the threat of punishment.
“They feel their fundamental freedoms have been violated and are forced into secrecy or to deny their love.”
The statement was made after the council heard several appeals by Patrick Stuebing who was imprisoned for three years in 2008 after fathering four children with his sister Susan Karolewski. Mr Stuebing was adopted and the siblings were not brought up together.