Operation to Separate Twins Leaves 1 Alive

The stronger of 3-month-old conjoined twins struggled for life Tuesday after being separated from her sister, who died as a result of the 20-hour operation.

The surviving girl, known only as Jodie, was in critical but stable condition, St. Mary’s Hospital in Manchester said. “As with all major surgery, the first few days following an operation are the most critical,” the hospital said.

Her sister, known as Mary, died after the surgery, St. Mary’s said.

Experts said the case was the first in Britain in which judges had to choose whether to accelerate the death of one person to save another. The Court of Appeal allowed the operation after doctors said both girls would have died within months without it.

The legal battle began shortly after the twins were born at St. Mary’s in August with fused spines, joined at the abdomen and with arms and legs at right angles to their upper bodies.

The twins’ parents--identified only as Roman Catholics from the Maltese island of Gozo in the Mediterranean--refused to allow the operation for religious reasons, and the hospital went to court to override them.

Doctors said before the operation that Mary depended entirely on Jodie for her blood and would drain the life from her stronger sister unless they were parted.