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

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Conjoined Twins FAQ
Wikipedia

Friday, June 19, 2009

*Related-Article

Law decided fate of Mary and Jodie

Sarah Boseley

The Guardian, Tuesday 5 February 2002 02.29 GMT

The twin daughters of the Maltese couple Michaelangelo and Rina Attard, known to the British public as Mary and Jodie, were joined at the pelvis with a fused spine. Although operations to separate other infants joined in such a manner have been relatively straightforward, doctors knew from before the girls' birth in October 2000 that both babies could not survive.

Mary, the smaller and weaker twin, was fatally compromised. Her lungs and heart were not properly formed and her brain was primitive, although capable of sustaining life.

If the operation had not taken place, both babies would have died.

"The only way [Mary] could have survived was [by the] link to her sister who was acting as her life-support machine," neonatal surgeon Adrian Bianchi told Mary's inquest.

"Over the previous 10 days [Jodie's heart] had begun to show signs of strain, consequent to taking on two bodies."

The doctors had little doubt about what had to be done, but the parents, devout Catholics who had come to Britain to consult leading specialists in conjoined twins, were not prepared to agree to the ending of Mary's life, even though it would be the saving of Jodie's.

The case went to the high court which ordered that the separation should go ahead, and then quickly on to the court of appeal, where judges said they had been faced with an agonising decision.

In the end they came down in favour of Jodie's right to life. "Mary has always been fated for early death," said the senior judge, Lord Justice Ward. "Though Mary has the right to life she has little right to be alive.

"She is alive only because, to put it bluntly but nonetheless accurately, she sucks the lifeblood of Jodie and her parasitic living will soon be the cause of Jodie ceasing to live.

"Jodie is entitled to protest that Mary is killing her. The best interests of the twins is to give the chance of life to the child whose actual bodily condition is capable of accepting the chance to her advantage even if that has to be at the cost of the sacrifice of a life.

"I am left in no doubt at all that the scales come down heavily in Jodie's favour."

The Catholic church and other campaigners vigorously protested at the decision, but the parents decided not to take the case to the House of Lords.

In a 20-hour operation, the bones and internal organs shared by the twins were separated and neurosurgeons delicately divided the spinal cord.

When the main blood vessel connecting Mary to Josie was severed, the weaker twin died. It was an incision the two surgeons, Alan Dickson and Mr Bianchi, made together in silence and, they said, with "great respect".

Jodie - whose real name, Gracie, was disclosed after the operation - is living with her parents on their native island of Gozo and is said to be doing well. Doctors say she should be able to lead a normal life and have children of her own.

Rose - Mary's real name - is buried on the island.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2002/feb/05/sarahboseley

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