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Legal Issues in Medicine
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Volume 344:1104-1108 April 5, 2001 Number 14

Conjoined Twins — The Limits of Law at the Limits of Life
George J. Annas, J.D., M.P.H.

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Conjoined twins have been the subject of scientific exhibits, medical study, human curiosity, and even entertainment, but until the year 2000, conjoined twins had never been the subject of a courtroom battle. A unique case that was the subject of two British court decisions deserves study.1 The case illustrates the difficulty of applying legal principles to unprecedented life-and-death decisions involving proposed medical interventions for children — particularly when parents and physicians disagree about what should be done.

The conjoined twins who were the subject of the court decisions are identified by the judges only as Jodie and Mary. They are . . . [Full Text of this Article]

The Opinion of Lord Justice Alan Ward

The Opinion of Lord Justice Robert Brooke

The Opinion of Lord Justice Robert Walker

Aftermath

Problems with the Legal Analysis

Failure to Identify with the Parents

Problems with Analogies

Problems with Conjoined Twins Themselves

Lessons

References




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