It's just about Siamese Twins

Jodie and Mary
Separate or not?

An anonymous couple from Malta traveled to England this past year for a complicated delivery of their Siamese twin daughters, Jodie and Mary, who were born on August 8,2000,joined at the abdomen and with fused spine. Doctors soon determined that unless the twins were surgically separated both would die. Mary, the waeker twin, whose brain was underdeveloped, would never be able to survive separated from Jodie. Jodie, who was strong and aler, had an 80%-90% chance of dying if surgery was not performed. She had a good chance of surviving in the event of surgery,although, in all likelihood she would be severely handicapped and need medical attention throughout her life.In similar cases in the past, the surviving twin has sometimes died within six months of surgery. In other cases, neither twin survives. The medical team at St Mary's Hospital, to which the twins were taken had never done a successful separation of Siamese Twins. When the medical team suggested surgical separation, the Parents, who were Roman Catholic, refused on religious and moral grounds to give their consent. The Hospital went to court pleading that life-saving surgery was in Jodie's best interest, and that saving one of the twins would be morally preferable to losing both. The presiding judge acknowledged the court's duty 'to put the welfare of each child paramount', but nonethless, concluded that Jodie's right to live outweighed Mary's, thus ruling in favor of the Hospital.

These are the ethical questions that we have come up with to facilitate in our opinion writing pertaining to the case of Jodie and Mary

Q1. Is there an ethical right to separation ?
Q2. Is it morally permissible to let both infants die?
Q3. Does distributive justice play a role in the separation of conjoined twins with multiple anomalies ?

Siamese Twins also known as Conjoined twins which are monozygotic multiples that do not fully separate from each other due to the incomplete division of the fertilized ovum. The individuals will be connected at certain points of the body, and may share tissue, organs or limbs. A rare phenomenon, the occurrence is estimated to range from 1 in 50,000 births to 1 in 200,000 births, with a somewhat higher incidence in Southwest Asia and Africa.Approximately half are stillborn, and a smaller fraction of pairs born alive have abnormalities incompatible with life. The overall survival rate for conjoined twins is approximately 25%. The condition is more frequently found among females, with a ratio of 3:1.
More info

Famed twins, Chang and Eng Bunker, were born in Siam (now Thailand) in the early 1800's, although they eventually settled in the United States. As they traveled the world, they became known as "the Siamese twins."
While they were the first conjoined twins whose medical history was documented, they were not the first set of conjoined twins. Records reference a set of conjoined boys living in Constantinople in 945 A.D. Another well-known set, Mary and Eliza Chulkhurst, lived in England in the twelth century.

Take your stand and voice out your opinion, visitors are welcomed to tag your opinions regarding Siamese Twins ( The current topic for discussion is JODIE AND MARY)

The stories of Siamese Twins
Their lives are not strange but
but tougher than anyone of us.

Faith and Hope [1]
Faith and Hope [2]
Kendra and Maliyah
Lea and Tabea [1]
Lea and Tabea [2]
Abigail and Brittany [1]
Abigail and Brittany [2]
Abigail and Brittany [3]
Abigail and Brittany [4]
Abigail and Brittany [5]
Conjoined Twins

June 2009

Layout: Kary-yan/Missyan.
Conjoined Twins FAQ
Wikipedia

Monday, June 22, 2009

Regarding separation of the Siamese twins Jodie and Mary, I personally feel that the surgical separation of the twins is to the utmost benefit to both of the twins. Since both of them will die if they are not separated, and if the surgery is conducted, although Mary is going to make the sacrifice but it also brings the chance of survival of Jodie from 0% to 80%-90%. And knowing that Mary’s brain is underdeveloped and Jodie’s brain is functioning normally, it is then obvious that saving life of a capable and more useful child is better than leaving both to die. The surgery would both twins’ interest, since for the twins to remain alive and conjoined in the way they are will depriving them of the bodily integrity and human dignity which is the right of each of them.

Adding on to that, this surgery will also benefit the medical community as there are not many successful cases of separation worldwide and the medical team has never done a successful separation of Siamese twins before. I believe that the skills and knowledge acquired from surgeries like the one that separates Jodie and Mary will aid in future attempts. It is impossible for Siamese twins to stop exist in the world and it is often rare and unique cases as twins are conjoined at different body parts and different organs are often involved. Thus they have to keep practice and explore until a foolproof way is found to ensure 100% successful separations.

However, there are still questions left to be pondered upon. Should doctors use number of lives saved to decide whether to sacrifice minor for major, stronger for weaker despite strong objection of relatives? The job of doctors is to save as many lives as possible, and being the closest people of patient, the relatives should have the best interest of patient in mind. When these two principles coincide with each other which one will outweigh the other?

In this case, I choose to conduct the surgery despite of strong objection from parents. In this way, Jodie is saved but is she able to lead a happy life afterwards? Will her parents hold grudges and think that Jodie should not live on the earth without Mary hence mistreat her? Or will constantly living in self denial because her twin sister sacrificed her life to continue hers? The family including Jodie and her parents will live under the shadow of Mary, and I wonder if they can lead a happy life without constantly being reminded of Mary’s death whenever they see Jodie.

The important value here is understanding between people. The parents should understand the doctors’ profession and the doctors should also understand the parents’ stand. If they try to see the situation in another party’s standpoint, they should be able to come up with a common solution which is to the upmost benefit of both of them, and they will not live with regrets.

Fu Songjia (6)

♥ love life and live life with dignity... 11:02:00 PM