Postgrad Med J 2001;77:593-598
( September )
Personal view
"Do we murder Mary to save Jodie?" An ethical analysis of the
separation of the Manchester conjoined twins
J J Parisa, A C Elias-Jonesb
a Tufts University,
Boston, USA, b Leicester General
Hospital, Gwendolen Road, Leicester LE5 4PW, UK
Correspondence to: Dr
Elias-Jones
Submitted 16 March 2001;
Accepted 30 May 2001
| The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below. |
 |
Introduction |
"Everyone has the right to life so why should we kill one of
our daughters to enable the other to survive?"* That question by the
parents of conjoined twins, Mary and Jodie, who were so fused that any
attempt to separate them would inevitably result in the death of Mary,
stands as a challenge not only to their caregivers at St Mary's
Hospital in Manchester, England, but to all who confronted the vexing
issues raised by their plight.
| |
The case |
A 34 year old white woman with no other children became pregnant.
At four months of gestation ultrasound revealed conjoined twins. The
treating physician on the Maltese island of Gozo recommended transfer
to St Mary's Hospital, Manchester where he had trained. Because of a
long standing agreement between Malta and Great Britain the patient was
transferred to the care of the British National Health Service.
On transfer magnetic resonance imaging revealed significant problems
. . . [Full text of this article]
