Twenty-four years ago doctors at St Mary’s Hospital, Manchester chose to operate on conjoined twins ‘Jodie’ and ‘Mary’ against their parents’ wishes – leading to the death of Mary.
In November 2000, after a long legal battle that gripped the nation, 15 medical staff performed separating surgery on the two baby girls – despite their devout Catholic parents, Rina and Michelangelo Attard, being against it.
World Conjoined Twins Day is Sunday 24 November, and this year is also the 24th anniversary of this landmark case.
The Maltese parents said their strict religious beliefs meant they should let nature take its course – without the procedure both children would have died, but for Jodie to live, Mary had to die. Staff at St Mary’s Hospital appealed to the High Courts for the right to operate on the twins.
The sisters were fused at the spine, joined at the pelvis and they shared a bladder. Mary’s lungs, brain and heart were underdeveloped. Medical evidence heard at the Court of Appeal said Jodie’s organs gave her a 94% chance of survival if she was separated from her twin. Mary’s life however, was entirely dependent on Jodie.
After many deliberations, the Court of Appeal granted the hospital permission to separate the twins. The parents challenged the decision the following month but lost, and the 20-hour surgery went ahead.
Jodie was reported to be in critical but stable condition following the operation. “Unfortunately, despite all the efforts of the medical team Mary sadly died”, a hospital spokesman said at the time.
Jodie and Mary were names given to the children for legal reasons at the time – their real names, Gracie and Rosie, were subsequently released.
After the funeral, the family went back to their home, the Mediterranean island, Gozo. Rina and Michelango Attard went on to have another baby girl in 2002 – they named her Rosie.
Rina told The Mirror her decision to not want the surgery was really down to her fears, about the kind of life her daughter would have with disabilities. Teenage Gracie told MailOnline she hopes to be a doctor in the future.
Several conjoined twins have been born and successfully separated in the UK without any legal issue. The law is that the child’s interests are paramount, but the Children Act had no precedent with this particular mix of religious, ethical and moral dilemmas.
This unique case was the first of its kind in Manchester – although on average one set of conjoined twins is born in the UK each year, the city has never seen anything like this case since, and neither has the rest of the country.
Image: Pixabay
