Epilepsy and marriage - the story of the abolition of laws that discriminated people with epilepsy in Norway.

OBJECTIVE

Norwegian legislators have for centuries discriminated people with epilepsy. This article specifically addresses the Norwegian marriage laws, and we discuss possible explanations for the discrimination.

METHODS

At the library in the faculty of law at the University of Oslo, we have performed a historical search in Norwegian marriage laws and their preparatory works.

RESULTS

The last law change that regulated epilepsy and marriage was passed in 1969. Before this, those with epilepsy had to disclose the disease before marriage, and if such information was withheld, the marriage could be annulled.

SIGNIFICANCE: The laws that restricted people with epilepsy from marrying were based on long standing official discrimination due to an overestimation of heredity and/or simply lack of knowledge. We suspect that the discriminatory laws had roots in old theories about eugenics.