title: Playing God: Mary must die so Jodie may live longer.
abstract: In 2000, conjoined twins were born in England. What made this case unique was the fact that if the twins remained unseparated, medical opinion held they would die; if they were separated one twin would live, and one twin would die; the parents refused to consent to separation; and the hospital charged with their care brought the matter to court. The trial court and court of appeal approved of the surgery, which was promptly performed, resulting in the immediate death of the weaker twin. The author argues that there is no justification in law or morality for the courts' decisions, and that, in fact, the courts' decisions over-rule prior precedent and effectively divorced law from morality.
authors.affiliation: University of Western Ontario, Canada.
authors.forename: C I
authors.initials: CI
authors.lastname: Lugosi
mesh_terms: D004739:England; D026689:Ethical Analysis; D005260:Female; D006806:Human Rights / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007258:Informed Consent / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D009014:Morals; D010684:Philosophy; D016312:Treatment Refusal / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D014428:Twins, Conjoined / Q000601:surgery*