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At Law: Siamese Twins: Killing One to Save the Other
Abstract
The birth of Siamese twins joined at the chest (thoracopagus twins) and sharing a heart creates an ethical dilemma. Infants with conjoined hearts survive no more than a few months, and physicians must decide whether to give one child a chance at life by separating the twins and sacrificing one to give the other an intact heart. Annas reviews the ethical and legal discussions generated by the birth and treatment of thoracopagus twins at Philadelphia's Children's Hospital in 1977 and 1987. He considers most of the analogies used to justify the death of one twin to be strained. The situation becomes more complicated when there is no medical indication as to which twin has a better chance of surviving. Nevertheless, Annas concludes that the bleakness of the twins' prognosis if they remain joined justifies separation and the death of one child, despite the difficulty of developing a rationale for the act. (KIE abstract)
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References 1 · Cited by 53
Metadata
- Authors
- Annas, G. J.
- Affiliations
- Boston University (US)
- Corresponding author
- Annas, George J.
- ORCID
- Annas, George J.
- Venue
- The Hastings Center Report
- Publisher
- JSTOR
- Published
- 1987-04
- Volume
- 17
- Issue
- 2
- Pages
- 27
- ISSN
- 0093-0334 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W1985845889
- Cited by
- 53
- References
- 1
- Citations by year
- 2025: 21 · 2024: 1 · 2023: 1 · 2019: 1 · 2018: 2 · 2017: 1 · 2016: 1 · 2015: 1 · 2013: 1 · 2012: 2
- FWCI
- 1.14
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- The Hastings Center Report (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- DigitalGeorgetown (Georgetown University Library) (submittedVersion)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Pediatrics, Perinatology and Child Health › Ethics and Legal Issues in Pediatric Healthcare
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Ethics and bioethics in healthcare
- Social Sciences › Law › Medical and Health Sciences Research
- Keywords
- conjoined twins, heart transplantation, fetal surgery, ethics of killing, medical ethics, legal status of the unborn, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia
- MeSH terms
- Ethics, Ethics, Medical, Humans, Infant, Prognosis, Risk, Twins, Conjoined, Patient Selection, Intention, Double Effect Principle
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