A harrowing documentary has shone a light on a taboo subject that continues to go on in America — inbreeding.
New York-based photographer Mark Laita interviewed members of the West Virginia-based Whittaker family who suffered extreme physical and developmental issues as a result of inbreeding.
The Whittakers’ parents were double first cousins – first cousins, twice, because they share both sets of grandparents.
Studies show that children born of two blood-related parents have double the risk of congenital problems such