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

Friday, June 19, 2009

*Related-article

Surviving Siamese twin Gracie goes home to Gozo

By Sandra Laville
Published: 12:00AM BST 16 Jun 2001

ON the Mediterranean island of Gozo, family and friends are preparing a homecoming for Jodie, the Siamese twin whose life was saved in an operation which killed her sister.

In a short hearing at the High Court yesterday, an injunction banning identification of Jodie was lifted to disclose her real name as Gracie Attard in preparation for her arrival home, which is expected today.

Named after the grandmother in Malta she has not yet met, Gracie, now 10 months old, has been given the all clear by doctors at St Mary's Hospital, Manchester, to travel to Gozo. There, Roman Catholic priests are ready to baptise the baby whose life split public opinion on the island.

The Catholic Church, supported by most of the island's people, opposed the separation of the twins, born in Manchester on Aug 8. Their parents, Michael Attard, 44, and Rina, 29, were also against the life-saving surgery which doctors knew would result in the death of Gracie's sister, Rosie.

Mounting a legal challenge to stop the operation, Mr and Mrs Attard said to choose life for one daughter and death for another "was against God's will". But the Attards lost their challenge when the Appeal Court ruled that the separation should go ahead. It took place in November in a 20-hour operation at St Mary's in which Rosie, who shared an abdomen, heart and lungs with her sister, died on the operating table.

Despite the Church's opposition to the surgery, Fr Eucharist Sultana, archpriest of Gozo, was eagerly awaiting the arrival of the family in their home village of Xaghra. He said: "I know they are coming soon. I have spoken to them. They will be welcomed back warmly I am sure but it will be a quiet welcome. People will give them privacy and then we will baptise the baby here and I am sure many people will come."

Nurses and doctors at St Mary's last night bade farewell to Gracie and her parents, who have lived in the hospital since last May. For the surgeons who carried out the complex surgery, it was a powerful moment. Adrian Bianchi, the Maltese-born surgeon who operated on the babies with his colleague Alan Dixon, said goodbye earlier in the week before flying off on holiday. He was responsible for bringing the twins' parents to St Mary's after doctors in Malta realised the unborn babies were conjoined and they did not have the expertise to deliver them.

Last May, the couple arrived to prepare for the birth of their babies but it was not until their birth by caesarean section that doctors realised the full extent of their conjoinment and of Rosie's poor condition. Since the surgery, Mr Bianchi has been reponsible for the after-care of Gracie. "It has all gone very well, the whole thing," he said. But we were always confident of Gracie's recovery after the operation. That is what we always said."

Mr and Mrs Attard have nothing but praise for St Mary's and its staff. A close friend said: "They cannot talk highly enough about them all: nurses, doctors, everyone. They feel they have been treated very well from the moment they arrived." Mr Attard, an unemployed labourer, and his wife, a chambermaid, have secured Gracie's future in a cross-media deal worth more than £350,000 - money which will be paid into a trust fund.

The couple have said they are beginning to come to terms with the operation and have told friends they are overjoyed to have "Jodie" in their lives. Just after the surgery, Mrs Attard said: "We are very happy because she likes to try to talk with us. She makes sounds like she is talking with us and she smiles at people and us. It makes us very encouraged for the future." He added: "She's going to be a real fighter."

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1312094/Surviving-Siamese-twin-Gracie-goes-home-to-Gozo.html

♥ love life and live life with dignity... 11:30:00 PM