Twins separated at birth met and married

[helderheid]

LONDON (Reuters) - A couple discovered after they had married that they were twins who had been split up at birth and adopted by separate families, according to a member of Britain's House of Lords.

British peer David Alton recounted the story to parliament last month to support his argument that artificially conceived children should be told who their biological parents are.

Alton said he had heard the story of the separated twins from a High Court judge who had dealt with the case.

"This did not involve in vitro fertilization: It involved the normal birth of twins who were separated at birth and adopted by separate parents," said Alton, an independent member of the Lords. "They were never told that they were twins."

"They met later in life and felt an inevitable attraction, and the judge had to deal with the consequences of the marriage that they entered into and all the issues of their separation," he said.

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http://www.reuters.com/article/oddlyEnoughNews/idUSEIC17037920080111?feedType=RSS&feedName=oddlyEnoughNews

[MADem]

1. Maybe DNA tests will be the future of marriage

Blood test to insure no communicable diseases

Heriditary screen to rule out life-threatening diseases

DNA test to ensure the couple aren't related...



Brave New World, this....

[treestar]

2. Could there be a bigger coincidence?

What are the odds of that happening? Wow!

[indie_voter]

3. I know and I don't know what to think because of this quote

Alton could not immediately be reached for comment and no further information was available about the twins or where they were from.

I hate that my first thought is to wonder if this a manufactured story to get support for the legislation.

[Canuckistanian]

4. I don't see where the "artificially conceived" part matters

This could have been a straight adoption and the problem would have been the same.

[laconicsax]

5. This almost happened before

Lucas knew they were brother and sister, but he still made them kiss. All I have to say is thank God for Han Solo.

[Saphire]

6. LOL

[ithinkmyliverhurts]

7. Just shows how deep-seated Narcissism is to the human condition.

Pygmalion would be proud.

Some classical refernces for my hip friends out there. Ovid rocks.

[keepCAblue]

8. This is a political maneuver by a pro-life, homophobic Catholic politician

A right-winger's attempt to prevent gays and lesbians from adopting children in the U.K.

Yahoo! News ran a similar article earlier today:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20080111/wl_uk_afp/britainchildrenadoptionmarriage;_ylt=Ak9EIdURzIx.Ly0fGmsZbPMDW7oF

---snip---

David Alton, an independent, pro-life member of the Lords, said the brother and sister were granted an annulment after a high court judge ruled that the marriage had never validly existed.

The Catholic politician -- who discovered the case after talking to a judge -- used it to highlight perceived deficiencies in the government's proposed Human Embryology and Tissues Bill, which is currently going through parliament.

The bill is designed to make it easier for lesbian and gay couples to have children through assisted reproduction, recognising same-sex partners as legal parents of babies conceived through donated sperm, eggs or embryos.

But it contains no provision to require the identity of the donor to be disclosed, potentially meaning a child could not be told they were conceived by assisted reproduction.

Alton raised the case of the married twins -- who were born after IVF treatment -- during a debate on December 10, details of which only appeared on Friday

[CK_John]

9. Sounds like he is passing on an urban legend. n/t