A set of twins who share the same body have celebrated their 18th birthday in the United States. Abigail and Brittany Hensel from Minnesota ... have two hearts, and two spinal chords, but share the same torso have lived their lives side by side.
The teens who enjoy swimming, playing the piano and recently got their drivers' licenses said they had no intention of being separated.
The girls have beaten the odds and doctors' expectations to reach their milestone. It is believed there are only four sets of twins who share the same torso and have survived into adulthood. And they are on track to graduate from university, and hope to have a family of their own one day.
"We want to be mums, but haven’t thought how it would work," Abigail said. The girls passed their driving exams with two separate licenses and two separate tests. Abigail worked the pedals, and Brittany used the indicators and they both held the steering wheel.
Their parents, nurse Patty, and carpenter Mike 48, decided not to have the twins separated at birth despite the risks. "From the first time we saw them we thought they were beautiful," she told the Sunday Mirror. -telegraph
Like many twins they have very different personalities and tastes - even more so now they are teenagers. Abigail, the feisty, stubborn one, likes orange juice for breakfast while Brittany, the joker of the family, will touch only milk.
Abigail loves pink and all things girly but Brittany prefers purple, multi-coloured hair and wearing unusual hats, and now they have turned 16 they love to experiment with makeup and clothes and giggle about which boys they like.
But that is where the similarity with other teenage twins end. For Abigail and Brittany Hensel are conjoined, sharing one body fused at the torso. Each controls just one side of the body, and yet remarkably this has not prevented them leading a full, active and happy life.
Displaying an astonishing co- ordination which has stunned doctors, they play the piano -with Abigail taking the right-hand parts and Brittany the left - and enjoy sports such as bowling, volleyball, cycling, softball and swimming.
And on their 16th birthday they passed their driving test; a mind-boggling feat of teamwork with each twin using one arm to control the steering wheel. Brittany explains: 'Abby does the pedals and the gear shifter. I take over the blinkers and the lights. But she likes driving faster than me.' - dailymail
Two headed conjoined twins Abigail Loraine Hensel and Britanny Lee Hensel had a short documentary about their lives on The Learning Channel. It is not easy to be born sharing a single body with your other twin and they are incredible that they had tried their best in leading a normal life. Here are some photos of the Hensel twins which peers into some of the moments in their lives.Photo source here. Photographer unknown.
...
But the girls are more than curiosities. Their smiling faces and apparent good health seem a rebuke to the current medical trend of trying to separate, via surgery, ever more complexly conjoined twins--a trend that often means sacrificing one child so the other can live "normally." And their tale of lives unpunctuated by solitude has much to teach all of us about the real meaning of individuality and the limitless power of human cooperation.
Conjoined twins are a rare event in the world's delivery rooms. They occur about once in every 50,000 births, but 40% are stillborn, and, curiously, 70% are female. Conjoined twins are always identical: the product of a single egg that for some unknown reason failed to divide fully into separate twins during the first three weeks of gestation. In the U.S. there are perhaps 40 live cases each year; ordinary identical twins are 400 times as common. - timehensel twins 5 life photo at the pool
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I ran into them recently in Grand Marais, MN. It was the most amazing. They bounced out of their van with several other kids, laughing, bouncing, talking, and just having a ball. They were obviously accepted as [one] of the group. They must have outstanding parents. I feel honored to have witnessed their lives.
Posted by: Dick Moore on May 17, 2004
294 comments:
1 – 200 of 294 Newer› Newest»i have a twin
i have ,been following the two girls story for
quite some time
and i find her life verry interresting
Will be an interesting wedding night....
Two on one. At least Chang and Eng were the Men....
Ask your religious leader if that's offensive to their lord?
I don't think it is offensive to Jesus. I think one husband is best as they share the same reproductive organs. They would have to find someone they both love and who loves both of them, and seeing as how real love is a choice and not an emotion, it's quite possible.
I know that this will sound disturbing but I am curious.. It was said that they hang with friends and are like any other normal teen.
They are 18 now and I assume that they will and or are dating. With out being crude or graphic I must ask how will that work? There are ethical questions that could be ask. These are two different individuals that share the same space what about sexual consent or even marriage?
I assume that they share the same likes and dislikes but could a marriage even be legal? If they had children Who would be listed as the birth mother?
I don't intend to be crude but there are hundreds of possible questions that could be ask....... They are both as attractive as any other average teen girl...........
Also my comment can' t be anymore rude than the response earlier that they could be new species.
Please what are everyones thoughts on this.
Reply to comment about rudeness moved to the Evolution vs Creation Debate.
And yet, it is a *choice* to be a homosexual?
These beautiful young women are an inspiration to me. I get so lonely sometimes. I wish I had a soulmate that I could share everything with, who would always stay with me and never leave me, who would always be there when I needed to talk. They are the blessed ones.
thats not right ! the oldes conjoined twins are :
lori and dori schappell - born sept.18 in 1961 in reading , pennsylvania .
greetings from tiniju
THEY ROCK! They're so inspiring!
I think is just dependes,but still kind of difficult if they married to a man or 2
I think they are quite interesting. I have wife already, otherwise wouldn't have problems in becoming the boyfriend of both or even marrying them, have kids, and all that.
[moved to the Evolution vs Creation debate.]
I fel bad for that litle boy in the picture when they were five. Very interesting, and Mike's points are true. There are problems with being diferent in our society, unfortunately.
ok look that just made me cry im only 11 and i found this video from a picture. i was doing a book report on the book the girls. a book about conjoined twins. i was shoked too se how these people could move and how they do things its amazeing what god can put on this earth. but when i saw how much there family cared about them and how they were normal it was shoking!!!!! i really is a wowing story and i hope they make it far in life
remember im only 11!!!!!!
Umm, the article said that they are the only set of twins who share a TORSO who have survived into adulthood. It didn't say they were the only set of conjoined twins to have survived into adulthood. Lori and Dori Schapell are joined at the head, not the torso.
hey my name is jessica rohrig i live in Indiana Milan will e mail me back bestfriendsracheljessica@hotmail.com ok i love Abby and Brittany are my BFF
Moved to the Evolution vs Creation Debate.
For everyone who apparently can't read, it doesn't say they're the oldest conjoined twins, nor does it say they're the only ones to survive into adulthood. it says, QUITE CLEARLY that they are one of FOUR sets of twins joined at the TORSO to survive to adulthood.
Jess, I can read quite well, including this sentence from the top of the page, second sentence in the first dotted box: "Abigail and Brittany Hensel from Minnesota are the oldest conjoined twins in the world." However, the Schappell twins (and possible others) are older, so that statement is incorrect.
These girls are a delight and an inspiration to all. They corner the market on cooperation, companionship and courage. I just saw a current documentary of their lives and was happy to see them still doing well since first hearing of their unique lives back in the early 90's. They, along with their family's support, have become lovely, confident women in a world that can certainly be cruel. Kudos to Abigail and Brittany. Best of luck in your college years and your certain sucessful future.
Julie (Detroit, Michigan)
I'm not totally sure why I am even making a post to this, but here goes. Xeno is right about 99% of the information that is he/she (sorry, that name isn't very gender specific) has entered. The reason I say only 99% is because without genetic testing to prove/disprove this "theory", there is no way to say it's correct or not. The ideas set forth have merit and could be entirely possible. As it is that Abby and Brittany will not consent to testing, those questions shall never be answered. But to back Xeno, there is strong merit to your ideas. Are you a student in genetics?? Or an intructor in this field? You speak as though you know this for fact, which is good. You should always back your theory, until proven otherwise of course. I know that what Xeno has said may sound crass or like it's just cruel banter. It is all correct. It could be possible that there is a genetic mutation that caused their spacific physiology. It could be a fluke, we may never know. Please, do not get angered over scientific theory, as humans, it is how we base all knowledge. Think, test, prove-disprove. There is no need for offense to be taken. It's natural. These young women are unique, perfect, and truely happy to be who they are. Keep theorizing, it's a good thing to do. But don't fight with people about it, just stick-poilitely, to your guns. And remember, only God knows, until science learns it too. Smile. I am.
intructor (from above) was meant to be instructor. Sorry about the typo. Bad keys on my keyboard.
Are the girls in college now?
Where ? What are they majoring in?
Do they live on campus or commute?
They are very remarkable & brave.
I'm curious and i'm sure it is a worry that their doctor my be worried about. What would happen to the other if one suffered from sever head trauma and died, (car accident, bike accident...) we know that Abigail controls one half and Brittany controls the other half.
WOW! They are great, what a great family and how refreshing they are.
xx
Are the girls dating?I think that is was very cruel of their parents not to separated the girls when they were born.How are they going to get married and have kids?They should just go to college and gets jobs and do the best they can.
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To Xeno and others (a few): Your ability to respond to others w/o taking offense to the name-calling, etc. You are to be commended for your "broad shoulders", and I thank you for your politeness. Continue to show others how to let it roll off your back when they call you stupid or idiotic. Thanks again...
Shame on the poster who judged their parents as cruel for not separating them at birth. From what I gather (sharing sex organs and who knows what other organs) I don't think they could have been separated without sacrificing one of them. I think their parents made the right choice and obviously have done a wonderful job raising them into such well adjusted young ladies.
They said in their documentary that they welcome people to ask them questions instead of staring or taking pictures. They have a great attitude. As for dating and having children, that's an issue only they will figure out when the time comes.
Ronnie and Donnie Galyon who live in Dayton, Ohio were born in 1951.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ronnie_and_Donnie_Galyon
Thanks JaniceR. This page I found linked from the one you gave is really amazing: History of Conjoined Twins (1950-1969) "An extremely rare case of conjoined male-female twins is born in 1957 as reported in the 1988 book Twinning and Twins. ..."
do you know how many conjoined twins there have ever been?
I doubt if I'd ever be at a party and Brittany-Abigail walks in, but I daydreamed a way to greet and talk to them. I wonder whether they are together -or separate- in their dreams.
Hi my name is shasta. I am a college student studying radiology technology (x-ray) and I am doing a powerpoint presentation assignment and I choose the topic "conjoined twins". I just want to say that I think Brittany & Abigail are AWESOME!
[...] on Kitten Born With 2 FacesJohn Burgess on 1,300-year-old Islamic note ma…shasta on Abigail and Brittany Hensel: M…Discover How You Can… on Vegetables Rich In Mouthwash o…Why is Bin Laden Sil… [...]
They are not the oldest conjoined twins in the world by a long shot, the Schappell sisters are the oldest female conjoined twins and are in their 40's.
[moved to the Evolution vs Creation Debate.]
I think Abbey and Brittany are amazing! They appear to be mature beyond their years, happy, well-liked and hard working, as now they are attending college. I have seen several shows about them and their sweet family and thought a lot about their future.
They have both stated emphatically that they want to have children. They are two DIFFERENT people so as this may sound strange, I believe that they both could marry different men. The very first well-known "siamese twins" were men, and they married sisters, and had quite a few children. Abby and Brittany have had to become creative problem solvers, from a young age. One of them could be enjoying intimacy with her husband while her sister had most of her side (of her body and head) covered and watching TV or distracted in some way as to give her sister as much privacy as possible. Birth control methods could be used until it was decided that it was time for a child. The four adults could decide which couple would be the genetic parents, then with invetro fertilization they could have a normal pregnancy and childbirth. Then possibly baby number two could be the biological child of the other couple, making the children, first cousins. I believe those two have the intelligence and fortitude to make something like that work. Of course it's really none of our business, but naturally we are curious about such matters, and I would like to see them fulfilled in every way possible.
This is a bit of a moronic discussion about the girls "constituting a new species" and showing that evolution occurs all around us, etc. They are not a different species, indeed, they are the same phenomenon as identical twins with the physical defect of improper separation in the first few days of life. Their children, if they are able to carry to term, will be completely normal (well, there is still a million to one chance that their children will be siamese twins, but this chance will be no higher than your or my children). Please learn a little biology before you wax and wane about a "new species of humans."
[...] Comments ruralmysteries on Video: Bright UFO in Canadian …Xeno on Abigail and Brittany Hensel: M…Tan solo un año de … on 1 Year Old Child is …ticepb on Abigail and Brittany [...]
DANG! Not sure what to say...its not nice therefore Im not saying anything.
[moved to the Evolution vs Creation Debate]
I think they're very cool and beautiful!
Well said Xeno. I don't pretend to follow all of your arguments or understand the intricacies of genetics, but science has more answers than any religious text. Strange that God treats his creations like lab rats, when, if he wanted our blind following, he could just tell us and we'd follow.
Is there a danger here of the human species dividing into new creationist and evolutionist species?
Well, as an student of biology, i 'll seperate between Religion and Science. Because religion is always subjective for each person, thats why this earth has many kind of religion. There's a great and huge wall which seperate science and religion. As a conclusion, I truly believe there's a God and i also believe that we'd been given skills by God to reveal a lot of mystery (including Science).
Personally, I think that my God give me skills to "Think With Logic". I'll use this skills just for good of human kind.
I'm still at college, i'll be graduate as a scientist and as a scientist i care A LOT about human and nature.
So that i must reveal many things to Survive this Collapsing Earth and Creatures.
I don't want to see a couple have a defect baby(i'm sorry about word "defect" because my english vocabularies and grammar isn't good enough), as a scientist i'll doing many research to help many couple to avoid having a defect baby.
Sorry for my BAD grammar. Thanks ^_^
Logic and Science is a key that made by human to understand every single things, event, and creature.
Religion is a Lesson came from God, generally God wants us to be happy and prosperous.
Dont you see there's difference where those things come from?
One from God
Another one from Human thingking
Hojo, I wouldn't deny anybody their belief. However, I suspect that the thousands that die or suffer in natural disasters every year, do not share in God's intended happiness for us.
I'm afraid I believe God is manmade.
This is really no medical mystery - this is just a case of an embryo that was going to split (and make identical twins) that didn't fully split and continued to develop as two babies without making the entire separation. Not medically interesting.
What is interesting is that ultrasound equipment WAS available eighteen years ago. I can't imagine how this wasn't picked up on the ultrasound and if it was, how their mom could have NOT aborted. There is no question that I would NOT knowingly birth a child with a serious physical or mental handicap. The world is difficult enough without handing the kid that kind of obstacle on day one.
>>>"At least Chang and Eng were the men..."
>>>"Ask your religious leader if that's offensive to their lord?"
I believe the religious leaders would be more offended by Chang & Eng's cheating at poker.
Oh, and a belated HAPPY BIRTHDAY girls! Stay hot!
I am an identical twin and very close to my brother. These girls are great. I have seen them on TV a couple times, like Oprah. I think that people should leave there personnel lives alone. They have two lives and two minds. They have the right to some privacy in regard to sex and motherhood etc.
At what point do they become one? They each have their own head, brain & spinal cord, I understand, so to some degree they each have their own nervous system. They are truly two different individuals with the same body, but at what point? It appears they have one back but they each have a neck with their own head. Where does each spinal cord reside in the one body? Apparently they share the same sexual & digestive systems/organs. Do they each then share the same sensations and do their esophaguses come together at some point to merge into the same digestive system? Was it possible to separate them without sacrifices the life of one of them? Who is it that has the head on the left side? It appears that she may very well suffer from neck problems, and if not, I wonder why not.
I am a mother of dizygotic twins, they're girl/boy, and look more different than most siblings, It appears that the identical twinning phenomenon, which is the only type of twin that can be conjoined, is not a heritable trait, and tons of twins have been in studies for generations. There is no more likelihood of them having twins, much less conjoined twins than anyone. Incidence of multiple identicals in one family tend to relate more to fecundity not genetics. Some women are also better at bearing twins where other people might not have brought them to viability. Large stature does help. Mosaicism is a subject for another day, but it does not have anything to do with the Hensels.
Di-zygotic twins can run in families, and has some genetic basis, It can be passed on through sons or daughters but it is only expressed by daughters. However, it seems to be better for survival to be a singleton, so, I don't see that as and evolutionary path either.
All that interesting science aside, God made something beautiful in those two girls. I have no problem with evolution either and it makes too much sense to get all conflicted about science. When I think of my twins, the word syzygy comes to mind. Some stars are formed that orbit around each other in opposition and balance. Yes, they can also have satellites. It is a beautiful thing and all twins, no matter how similar or different, have to deal with the complementary nature of their lives. My daughter is right handed; my son is left handed. She has very straight blond hair; he has very curly brown hair. She has blue eyes and lighter skin; he has freckles and brown eyes. She is built in long tall straight lines and is slippery like spaghetti, he is compact, all wire and muscle and cling. She loves math; he loves books. Abigail and Brittany are more unique and amazing twins, but they are not alone in this experience. I find myself wondering about their handedness and how that might affect their aptitudes in academics.
In my opinion, the Hensels will be able to negotiate the balance of a marriage and children just fine, maybe better than most twins. I seriously doubt, as one post suggested, that they might avert their attention and think about something else, then have a child and choose to call one of them the mother, and the other the aunt and switch off in successive births. They will both love every one of their children as a mother. Did you see them greet and hold the baby at the park? They are both naturals. It is the rest of the world who has to adapt to children who have two moms. They are way ahead of the curve. Theirs is a more beautiful, complex, symmetrical, balanced life, not less. Perhaps that is what really motivated another poster to suggest they could represent a future evolution? (but that is more Xeno's healthy imagination than science).
I hope they meet two men with a twin-like bond, but more than that, I hope they find very special men or a man that they love. According the the Hensels, they fight "all the time", they should be champs at marriage!!
What an interesting display of human diversity we have in this comments section!!! XD i love it.
i especially like the way Xeno answers so calmly and sticks to his point (since noone has amde an actually challenging argument against his ideas). But i did notice Xeno, kinda-almost losing it in his next to last post, poor guy, the extremists within the christian ranks exasperate him so... hang in there Xeno, i think you're doing it right as long as you don't resort to the same kind of non-argument-retorts they use to make themselves feel like they've countered you effectively (so as to keep their minds at ease with their beliefs).
i believe everyone has a right to their own beliefs, and unfortunately i also believe they have the right to express those beliefs, no matter how hare brained they are, else we would not have a democracy.
but you, Xeno, unlike some have told you here, are not obliged to prove anything, since you are not even theorizing, you are just hypothesizing. And hypotheses can be as fancy as one likes... and you did support your ideas with data that can be researched, and re-analyzed if required or wanted.
as for the existence or non existence of God... why did they start telling you off for that? you never stated whether there was a God or not... just because you accept evolution as an explanation for the diversity of life... does that make you an atheist? (well some other things you said after being attacked for that did make you seem like an atheist =P), but if you're an atheist that is your affair, I accept evolution as the source of life-diversity, I am also a firm believer in God, and a christian. is that contradictory??? i think not, i just accept what science has found as the way God designed the Universe, it is my personal belief (i repeat: PERSONAL BELIEF- it has not been empirically proved, and possibly a lot of christians disagree as well) that God designed the Universe in a way that it would be kinda self designing, like for example: God did not decide how humans would end up looking like, the Universe's rules did (evolution or whatever rule of the universe it actually was =P).
again that is just my PERSONAL BELIEF, and i do not expect many others to agree, or need them to, i am happy thinking by myself. =P
i also believe, unlike most religious fundamentalists, that God gave us human knowledge to use it to get to know him and the Universe we live in better, and thus learn how to live better, not to ignore it becuase it is "mundane" and "evil", because supposedly it does not come from God (and where the hell did it come from, if God didn't give it to us??? and if God gave it to us, why shouldn't we use it to our advantage???).
i like your ideas, Xeno, and you sound like you know your stuff, even if you're not a believer, so keep at it.
God bless you (XD)
oh, and the conjoined twins are awesome, and beautiful, and i wish them a long and joyous life, and i hope they keep on inspiring people like that.
not to be rude but im curios [about their bathroom functions]
-brittany e
I've added a diagram of their internal organs. You can see from the diagram that they share some parts. The twins do not discuss who controls and feels what regarding those shared parts. So, if you have a question about any of that, only they know the answer. The options are: Only one feels everything, the other, nothing. Or they each feel and control different parts in various spots. Or they both feel and have control over the same shared parts. Imagine sharing control of an arm, for example. It would be somewhat like hypnosis where your arm seems to move on its own sometimes.
Religion is a crutch for the weak of mind.
Wow, Would almost hate to be them. Too many idiots asking extremely personal questions. Or calling them a new species. Really..
I bet the birthday would be awesome...
Okay jeez. I looked on here because I was curious and bored, and find a whole discussion on these poor girls' lives. Yes, we all have different ideas about what we believe to be true regarding science and religion, but do we have to do all the childish name-calling and dissing? Obviously the twins themselves aren't a new species and nobody said they were. I think the point was that if a whole bunch of conjoined twins decided only to marry one another, eventually, over a very very long time, conjoined peoples and individual peoples would not be able to interbreed due to genetic make-up. Most of the people disagreeing with Xeno's posts are people who have no idea what he/she is talking about: it is called biology, people, and the evolutionary THEORY. That is not to say there is no such thing as God or higher beings or whatever you believe in. It was what we as mere humans use to explain things with physical evidence. It is not necessarily factual, but it does have a lot of supporting evidence and therefore people who believe can in no way be called "close-minded fools." At least there is evidence; it could be argued that the idea of the divine is mere speculation, because really, is there any proof at all?
Also, to Anon, who said Darwin gave us natural selection and not evolution . . . well, the fact is that natural selection is the process leading to evolution. In this situation, that would be if conjoined twins turned out to have a better survival rate than separate people. This is obviously not the case, but if it were, at some point there would be more of them than individual people, and eventually there would only be conjoined twins, a "new species."
Please, people, don't get so worked up over speculation, theories, and idle curiosity. It's enough to give those of us just taking a peek around a headache. I mean, look what I just wrote! That was unplanned for.
And that said, I think these girls are incredible and we should all learn a lesson from them about tolerating others (hint hint). For those of you who have siblings, imagine for a moment that you are attached to them. Permanently. I don't know about you, but I think if this were the case for all people, suicide cases would skyrocket enough for the human species to go extinct. Think about it.
I came here accidently. Wow...creepy. We're moving to Chicago in June... I miss you!!! :)
I think you gals are amazing. I hope to learn more about your journey, so carry on and continue to enlighten.
failure to believe in God shows weakness of mind not the reverse. These girls are a new species? I suggest Xeno is.
Erudite,
Thanks for stopping by. See above. I've already answered. Yes, you found me out. I am a new species, Xeno erectus. Have a nice day.
Good Luck in college girls. I hope you do well. I really respect both of you.
Totally fascinating. They are a miracle of sorts. When they get older, I hope someone makes a documentary of their lives. The fact that they are healthy is amazing and they are nice looking as well.
hello abby and brittany. iwould like to meet you 2 one day.
Hello,
My English is terrible, perhaps to translate well ...
I saw the document in the Czech Television, me too excited and touched my feelings. Not regret it, because they envy the close person who is always close to, understands all the feelings and moods. I wish good luck girls and all their family, I admire the parents, siblings and friends. Good luck
Hela
i think its creepy but they didnt choose to be that way .... i just wonderd .. when they eat would they put double the wait on and do they both get hungry or ?
love from charlie x x
I am the mother of identical twins and as far as I understand it...
the earlier the egg splits, the more separate the babies will be. For example (the timing is just an example, I don't really know if it takes an hour or a day):
Egg fertilized, egg splits...
on the same day means 2 placentas, 2 amniotic sacs, 2 babies
splits day 2 means 1 placenta, 2 sacs, 2 babies
splits day 3 means 1 placenta, 1 sac, 2 babies
after that, some parts of the baby itself will be joined together. So the longer the fetus has to develop before the split happens the more organs the two will share.
No matter what, this is a miracle! With or without religion, this is amazing, simply amazing!
Years ago it was thought that identicals were born with 1 placenta and fraternals had two. This is not the case and caused several identical twins to be misdiagnosed as fraternal. Interesting!
BTW, mine had one placenta, 2 sacs and suffered from Twin to Twin Transfusion Syndrome. I had fetal surgery when I was 18 weeks pregnant and it saved both of their lives. See www.fetalhope.org to learn more.
hi, i'm a conjoined twin just like them. WE know what they feel when people point or stare. We don't like it, we're all the same.We are a lot littler so we get teased a lot more.My name is Hannah and my name is Kady. We understand, and we think that people should be liked for how they are on the inside, not on the outside.Well bye for now.
Hello Kady and Hannah. Thanks for stopping by! Nice to meet you. How old are you? Ignore anyone who is rude. People are just curious. Some may even be secretly jealous because they are alone and you are not. The thing I am most curious about is if you share any body parts were you can both feel or that you can both control, and what is that like? Take care, Xeno
Hi hensel twins my name is jimmy. i enjoyed your website watched your show on tv. please reply sorry to the typeing i hav cerebarl palsy.
Amanda Prado (Brasil)
Recebi um e-mail sobre voces, é impressionante, deve ser uma luta a cada dia, mas vendo as fotos dar para ver como são felizes, desejamos toda felicidade do mundo, se então vivas e algum para mostrar para o humano que devemos respeitar e amar uns aos outros, Parabéns Abigail e Brittany!!! E ENFRENTÃO TODOS OS OBSTACULOS QUE A VIDA NOS DÁ E VENCERÃO O PRECONCEITO.
KISS
FELICIDADES
Some of questions are very offensive to me if not to the twins. None of us come with a manual. Time will take care of a lot of these issues as they are faced. I know God loves all of us and we each have a mission. I wish these girls a great deal of joy in their lives which belong exclusively to them and their families. God bless them.
These little dreams are true "HEROS". I have researched this subject online, since seeing the Discovery Health Special on them, and I am amazed. I am learning from them as I go. The parents had no idea that they were even going to have twins.........let along conjoined twins, until the birth. These little ladies are here for a purpose and God only knows how HE is using them as his tool to teach us. I have sat here and thought over and over .....if I complain about anything in my life - stike me down. I can't IMAGINE what their life is like, but the BEAUTY of it is - their life is, quite obviously, WONDERFUL. They are as happy as clams, and it shows. They have a support system of siblings, friends, and astonishing parents. I still have a hard time wrapping my head around what life would be like if I were attached to my sister, and we are as close as two people can be. It is mind boggling, yet these TWO beautiful young girls are showing us what we all need to do to live in communion together. This is an awesome testiment to what a TRUE FAMILY is. We lost a son in 2002 with MD. I know how hard it is to watch a child go through life being "different". This story gives that word a whole new meaning. The thing is, "different", is always the mind changing thing. I wouldn't trade my son's 16 year life for anything. He was sent here by Jesus to teach us all.....and boy, did we learn from him. If he had been any different, he wouldn't have been himself. These two little puddings are here for the same reason - DON'T MISS THE BLESSING. What a BEAUTIFUL family.
you are great inspiration all over the world
you are so beautiful, smart and amazing
god bless you Abigail and Brittany Hense
titi tubulina Israel
For the sake of convenience they should have one spouse as they only have one set of reproductive organs. When twins are conjoined at the head and have two separate bodies and two sets of reproductive organs they then should have two spouses. They'll have to decide amongst each other who would be the mother listed on the birth certificate. If they choose to have more than one they could take turns. Is this logical enough for everyone, or do we need to knit pick details and argue over it?
I found this site checking to see if the twins had their own webpage. I guess not. I can't really blame them. Most likely they stay off the internet except for school and personal email.
I would think in this case a judge would rule bigotry as legal. It is certainly less complicated to have one husband since below the waist they are one person. Both their names should be listed on the birth certificate. How complicated is that?
As for bladder control, etc. I saw on the Oprah show years ago when she asked that they said when either one of the has to 'go', they 'go'. That would seem to imply that they both have sensation below the waist. Other than that each twin controls one side of the body. They have two stomachs, but only one set of intestines.
They do certainly have two different personalities and I love to learn about their creative solutions to life's problems. They are an inspiration of them all.
Jennifer L
I'm an idiot! I meant bigamy NOT bigotry. Too little sleep and freudian slips.
Time for ME to get back to school work.
Sorry if I offended anyone.
Jennife
I'm all for your views xeno and I have been shouted down by religious fundamentalist in my part of the world for holding similar views. I'm really impressed by your dissertation, it looks solid in any event of such occurrence. Evolution is too solid to be discarded. God as Bertrand Russell intoned must have been man made. Keep up the Good work, you are inspirational.
I saw the follow up documentary on these girls when they were 16 or so and driving, they are very interesting young ladies and it was great to see how they choose cloths and do school work with two distinct personalities, I guess they are lucky they are both girls.
I also saw a great documentary, I think it was called "I am my own twin" you can see some of it on U-Tube and they say that many eggs/cells may fuse with or absorb another egg after splitting in different stages development. I think they are called "chimeras". Some never fully fuse/absorb the other and can be born two people partially joined, two different sexes combined in one person ect. Some can have two different sets of DNA within different organs of a single person or both male and female organs ect.
Doctors sometimes decide what sex a baby will be and remove organs of the other sex but their minds are the opposite of what the doctor decided. Very interesting and strange stuff to think how many people may have started out as multiple people and now are one person and this puts in question, DNA testing, Gay genes, multiple personalities ect. Who knows what’s possible, you may be multiple people in one body and never know it.
It is not clear to me that this is a heritable trait. (For speciation to occur the trait must be able to be passed on to children.) There *may* be genetic factors that lead to increased likelihood of the fission or fusion events which lead to conjoined twins, but those factors may not necessarily always produce dicephalus conjoined twins--perhaps lots of different kinds of conjoined twins. Also there may be genetic factors in the mother not the twins, which are not necessarily heritable. Or there may not be any kind of genetic factor, just a random rare event during development.
I am a scientist and understand evolution, I just wanted to make the point that this is not a very clear example of genetic variation leading to traits which may be selected leading to speciation, because it is not clear how this might be a genetic trait. If someone else were born with the *exact* same DNA I hypothesize you would not have the same remarkable result.
All that aside, I am inspired by these young ladies and the challenges they face. I wish people would stop posting what they "should" do with their personal lives.
Hi
I´m in Iceland and saw the film about these girls! Not everything in the world is perfect! Talk about separting them after birth because they can´t marry is not a good argument! They would have been very handicaped and I doubt it would have been possible. This is them like they are, at least they have eachother and that is a lot. Wheater they marry is not primary in their life, but with todays technology they could have help with getting child and raise one or more! That would be nice for them! Rut Iceland
On the topic of evolution, Xeno, I read the posts far up the page were one person comment something along the lines of "Why didn't the mother abort if ultrasound was available and she saw that they would have a "handicap". Sadly I temporarily agreed with her, but then your comment about how people with handicaps have contributed great things to the world reminded me of people like Daniel Tammet and others like him (Stephen Hawking comes to mind, though he wasn't "born" with Lou Gerigs (Born in the sense that he had its symptoms when he was born, though it was in his DNA).
Anyway onto my point: Does the thought ever cross your mind that evolution has come to the point where it is just crawling for the human species? Thanks to modern medicine we can keep people alive long enough to reproduce that may not have made it in tougher/earlier times, arguably worsening the gene pool. I am extremely nearsighted, and the thought suddenly struck me the other day that in rough 3rd world countries the incidence of myopia and various other traits that probably worsen our chance of survival is most likely far less (just a somewhat educated guess), while in 1st world countries these same traits are allowed to thrive and continue on and on.
Do you think our large and powerful brains and quickly accelerating technology make up for the fact that most of us in the 1st world can manufacture a world around ourselves that perfectly matches what genetics and evolution has already given us, therefore "slowing" evolution since we aren't forced to adapt quite as often?
Just some strange musings before I fall asleep.
Hi James,
We are the only animal I'm aware of which has moved it's memory outside of its body (first books, now the net). Our communal memory allows us to make progress like no other animal toward our own survival. We are now working on hacking our own genetic code to directly influence our evolution. Our brains will, at some point, take over our evolution even more. We are branching off in this way, from all other life forms on earth. We are in the process of being born into a species that can form a spore, a spore that can leave this planet and colonize others. I believe this is our destiny. If it is not, our descendants will perish in approx. 5 billion years when the sun expands to a red giant, boils our atmosphere into space, and possibly engulfs the planet. Earth may end up inside the sun. We're toast if we don't evolve fast enough.
Jaydee + Jodiee in study skills : pahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha
laughing at the photos i wouldnt let that sit on me!!!!!
Leafy+Twiggy sat in study skills Lookin at these pics,, Laughing pphhhahahahahahhahahahahahahahahahhahahahaha
These cheerd me upp thankss girlss :)
ohhh n hii bummbumm int it cool thtr were both in study skills eyyy
xxxxx
yeahh totally lol its not like we are sitting next to each other or nothin ehh lol ,, this is a bit like bebo ,, i should meke a profile with your head stuck on my shoulders :)
lyyy
Xxxxxxxx
Nahh i dont even noo yuu maynn!
n it is a bit like bebo we should come on ere more often :L,, nn i think tht we should do the picture thing,, i lovee youu my conjoyned twinn :)
xxxxx
ohh id like to meet them too,, i agree,, very sexyy ;)
me too they are sexxyyy ;)
hahahaha youu guys rite too muchh
hehehe i suppose a mann wouldnt like my loudness lol
i guess youu will hae to do ;)
ich leibe du
iluu'
Xxxxxxxx
am off nowww Byeeeeee :) Xxxxxxxxxxx
Continued...
GOD'S A BITCH
Personally, I believe their parents have been through the ringer trying to raise them. They each have different personalities and have to compromise on everything. If they are dating, that is their business and I am sure it would be posted somewhere. Abby and Brit, you are both very beautiful young ladies and it is a shame that you even have to put up with some of the things being said here. That being said, people will always be people and never truly understand life itself.
Great story and wonderful pictures.
BUT, you have some information wrong: Brittany and Abigail are NOT the oldest conjoined twins in the world. The oldest conjoined twins in the world are Ronnie and Donnie who turn 58 this year.
I am watching Abby & Brittnay on TLC, I've seen this before. The girls seem so amazing, as does all their family and I would love to let them know I think they are a wonderful example of a family, makes me cry happy tears watching them because I can almost feel their strength and love just from watching this show.
I wish them the best of everything in life and I want to thank them for being who they are.
Now I know why these young women hid their MySpace page. I loved it when they said something like people don't need to know who we are dating and that stuff. Likewise, they are not experiments or specimens on a microscope slide. I would have been proud to have them as daughters. and it is the young women who have shown they can solve questions and conflicts which most of us could never solve. My Lord, I think they will have a wonderful life and they will decide and work out any problem they come up against. How they do it, when they do it, what they do... like the 16 year olds said, it's not anybody's business. They are obviously masters of loving life.
Ronnie and Donnie Gaylon are the worlds oldest conjoined twins at 57 yrs. old not Lori and Dori shappel as previously stated by someone else.
I'm watching the TLC rerun of the girls 16th birthday. I came on here looking for a recent update on where life has taken them and I found first hand the very reason Abigail and Brittany and their mother chose to be so closed off. Of course closing yourself off obviously didn't stop some of the ignorant and disrespectful conversations produced here.
So, here's hoping one day Brittany and ABigail see the people like myself who just are amazed at God's handiwork and miracles! You each are an inspiration to us less fortunate. It makes me think of what my mom always tells me, "God loves us to much to hurt us intentionally and is too wise to make a mistake." We can't see the big picture of our lives or anyone elses and so we don't know the purpose of "Why", but if we are patient and understanding it all eventually makes sense and falls into place. I would be honored to know each of these girls personally! Maybe one day that will be possible.
With love to all,
Bea
This is in response to Jamie specifically and also for everyone-
Before going on I would like you to get rid of all your biases towards religion and think logically if this makes sense.
If you would go to this website: "http://www.existence-of-god.com/" you will see that there is much evidence to support the existence of God.
But in disproving a completely naturalistic philosophy (which I think you believe in), please follow my progression of thought: we know that in a completely scientific view of things that there are causes and then effects based on those causes. You probably believe in the big bang theory correct? Well what caused the big bang? If you are able to explain that, then tell me what caused that cause and so on. You see, eventually you have to stop; it does not make sense that there are an infinite amount of causes and effects; this is where a supernatural being comes into play (God). Since God is supernatural he is above the natural laws of this universe and He has and will always exist, something that is supernatural and hard to comprehend. Also, if you believe in evolution than you have NO MEANING in life, you just randomly came into existence with no purpose. I view this as a very pessimistic life to live and wonder how people like you think what happens after you die...do you think you just cease to exist (scary by the way)?
If you look at the website, it will explain this much better than I can. I am a Christian and I DO have something to live for. I hope that in possibly proving to you that a God DOES in fact exist, that you will start seeking a religion, and I must tell you that Christianity is the ONLY WAY. No other religion or combination of religions will get you to heaven, where I truly pray to see you.
Sincerely,
Jonathan
Hi Jonathan,
I too am a Christian and I just believe. I don't need to know how God works or try to analyze the bible. I didn't grow up going to church and I don't remember when I started to believe, I think I just always did believe and I feel very fortunate that I do feel this way. I'm not sure how I could go through this world if I didn't feel what I do.
I do believe in evolution in a way, in God's way, that evolution is by God's hand, his plan in life and I can't explain evolution, nor can I explain God. I believe that people have to come to God in their own way, people can't necessarily read something then change their view, although I love the fact that you are passionate and wish to spread the word of God as all Christian are asked to do and I feel it's important to pray for everyone, pray that they will find their way to God and if they don't I pray that God will be the loving God I believe he is and save those who have a pure heart whether they believe or not because growing up in a family that does not believe in God happens in so many homes and those people not being allowed to find God because of their family's beliefs don't always know where to turn. I did not grow up learning about God, I grew up hearing how the churches were only interested in collecting money and when I grew up and chose to go to church I was always joked on about it and made to feel like my beliefs were foolish but I didn't let that stop me. But not everyone has the ability to go against their parents and it's easier just to go along than to stand up for your beliefs, which is sad so I hope that anyone who feels lost, feels like they want to know more about God chooses to do so because it has been very fulfilling to me to believe in God and be a Christian through the easiest and toughest times in my life and I've been so far down I didn't think I'd ever be able to make it but I have because of my beliefs.
I am an identical twin and my twin and I are very close. Singleton's just don't understand how twin's work. I find it interesting that they say "I" like this or "I" do that. My twin and I say "we" all the time. Sometimes, even now that I am an adult, I will say "we..." and someone will be "who is we?" My twin and I know what each is thinking and love each other as ourself. We always shared everything and still do. Twins are special people. We always say if everyone was a twin, the world would be a better place. When it comes to all the big stuff in life Brittany and Abigail will figure it out like me and my twin do, together, cuz that's what twins do!
OMG! The people babbling about God need to go to a different post. This one is about twins.
Susan,
Have you read the posts in here, people talking about God making these girls? Does it offend you because of the subject being about God? There is discussion about whether God is real because of the views some people believe there is no God because He wouldn't have allowed these girls to be born as one. There is discussion about evolution going on too, does that offend you?
Why aren't you saying anything about people calling these girls a new species? That's offensive, but talking about God being kind and loving, that offends you?
To Matilda,
I completely agree with you that simply posting a proof of God and why Christianity is true will not cause someone to become Christian, we must pray that the Holy Spirit will work in their hearts to have them accept the Gospel.
I am not quite sure how you use the word "evolution" though.
And I think I should clarify something...when you say that you believe in God (hopefully that Jesus is God because hundreds of religions may believe in a God but not the correct one such as Judaism), I get the impression that you do not know why you believe in Jesus. Well I think you should have a sound basis for your belief in Jesus. Like if I were to ask you the following question: "Why do you believe in Christianity?” how would you answer?................Well, the answer should be that you believe in Christianity because it is TRUE. For me one of the most convincing evidence that Jesus was and is who He claimed to be (God), is that manuscripts written thousands of years before He was born prophesied specific details about Jesus, such as him entering Jerusalem on a donkey, being betrayed, and even giving the exact amount of silver he was betrayed for (I think it was 40 pieces of silver), these all came true, as seen in the New Testament. You could look up other reasons why He is the Messiah online I'm sure with verses.
I congratulate you for how you persevered through life even though you where ridiculed, but better to be ridiculed on this earth and spend eternity in heaven than to become the most powerful person in the world and spend eternity in hell.
Sincerely,
Jonathan
To Susan the reason I am "babbling" about God is because after reading Jamie's post I wanted to present information that may help her see the truth, especially since it is more important than anything that she know this truth of Christianity.
Hi Jonathan,
I get what you're saying. I believe in the Holy Spirit, I believe in Jesus, in God, the whole trifecta. I know why I believe, I believe because I have God in my heart. I knew as a child, way before I ever stepped inside a church that there was a God without being told who God is.
I don't question why I believe, nor will I. I don't follow anyone else's beliefs, I don't believe because someone tells me I need to and I don't believe because of any passage in the Bible. I just believe and to me that kind of belief feels pure and feels right.
I don't feel I need to be able to answer why I believe in any other way than saying "I just do" but if that's not a good enough explanation I can't be of any help, it's my explanation, it's how I feel and I am the only one who has to understand that. I'm not being angry, tone doesn't come through well in type :)
Just as these twins in this forum, I don't question why they were born as one, I just believe God has his plan but I don't need to know what that is, but I believe this was no mistake, these girls are anything but a mistake, they have so much strength and are happy and seem to have a wonderful family and that is what matters.
Your sensation of certainty is an emotion. You feel it sometimes when you are right and it can also be felt just as strongly sometimes when you are wrong. Time will show you the truth of what I am saying. Keep track of when you feel something is absolutely true "in your heart". Keep a journal and in a few years, perhaps sooner, you will see what I mean.
i think the girls are very bright and adorable they r normal girls who argue disagree on things i love that they do not let their condition bother them and their friends enjoy them that is a good thing abby and brittany keep up the good work and ur dreams will come true love u from brooklyn
To Matilda,
If you are meaning that you believe in Christianity just because it “feels” right someone like Xeno could easily argue that millions of other religious people who do not believe in Christianity sincerely believe that their religion is right because they feel that it is right. Such a person could ask: Why is your feeling that Christianity is right, correct while a Muslim's feeling that their religion is correct, wrong? What I am trying to say is that sincerity does not equal truth. Billions of people could all be completely sincere that their religion is true and end up in hell because they were wrong (An example would be some suicide bombers). If this is not what you mean then I am sorry, but if you do believe in Christianity just because it "feels" right, then I suppose that we should agree to disagree (Though I would pray that you change your mind) I’m sorry if I offended you.
Sincerely,
Jonathan
To Xeno,
What you said about being sincere and wrong applies to you and your trust in Darwinism though you may base it on some faulty evidence that could be proven wrong.
Hi James and Xeno.
Just a minor side-note to your comments (and one which makes me despair).
I'm a paediatric consultant in one of the big cities in the UK, and a huge proportion of cases I see these days are kids with genetic diseases born from consanguinous marriages (that's "people who are related by blood", in case Anon thinks this is psychobabble too). I fully expect to be abused for this next statement but that doesn't detract from the truth of it; most of these marriages are between Muslims - this is neither rascist nor ignorant, it's a simple statement of fact.
This intermarrying is the result of - among other factors, I freely admit - the religious dictum to keep the blood pure. The results for some of these kids are horrific, and can mean a life of pain, isolation and misery while their parents concentrate on their "normal" siblings.
There you have it; religion is foolish, and bad for your health and the gene pool. By this I mean all most religions, not one in particular - the Catholic belief that contraception is sinful, for example, is just as ridiculous as a belief that intermarriage keeps the blood pure. It's just that the example I've described is the one I have most experience with, and therefore feel able to comment on.
I saw the documentary on TLC of Abby & Brittany,
It was great! It is very obvious that they are two separate people. When I watch them I see 2 individuals just wrapped in one skin. I kept thinking,COOL,esp. how they work as a team!!! And how we with individual bodies have such difficulty mastering the concept of teamwork. We all have a purpose in life, each with our own obstacles to overcome, they are no different than people with individual bodies with exception that they did not allow their obstacle to limit themselves,as we with the individual body do allow obstacles to be a hindrance limiting our growth as a person & in life!! Not many can teach us these things as these young ladies have done. I am in awe with admiration,respect
and envy of these two ladies for what they have achieved!!!! WOW, I know their parents are proud!!!! I feel so inferior to them.
Sincerely,
Roxanne
To Matilda,
You want me to answer your questions but that would only cause you more harm for how I would answer them (Not in the way you would like). But you do not answer me questions or prove my thinking to be wrong.
But I will answer a few of the questions you asked (rhetorical or not): "So, what is it you’ve done as a good Christian other than telling people they don’t believe right?".....I do not believe I am "good" and that is the WHOLE reason why I need a savior(Jesus) who died on the cross for my sins and rose again because man if inherently evil (the doctrine of original sin). Ephesians 2:8-9 says that it is by grace we have been saved, through faith and not by works. Though good works naturally come as a result of being a Christian. I may have done "good" things as you say but that does not prove I am a Christian. I do not want you to believe exactly as I do, I want you to be ASSURED of your faith, and WHY it is true. Though God is the great Counselor who comforts us through hard times, that is not why we believe in Him.
And now I will give you my life story to either amplify, diminish, or destroy my credibility (most likely it will diminish my credibility because of stereotypes of age). I am about 16½ years old and in eleventh grade. Maybe to add to my reliability I will say that my GPA for this school year fluctuates between a 4.4286 and a 4.5714 (I am not saying this to boast (do not think I memorized that either (I checked)). Why would it matter? You do not know me.) I have always gone to Christian schools my whole life. I have been raised in a Presbyterian church my whole life (except before I was one year old or something, used to be Catholic but my parents changed) I do not agree with EVERYTHING my church says but I do agree with its way of thinking for that most part. It has been required that I take a religion class each school at the school I am going to and right now I am taking world religions and I have been taught (logical) how other religions and world views such as scientism (not scientific by the way, I prefer the word naturalism) are wrong while Christianity remains true and WHY it is. Of course you are thinking that I have not had enough life experience and do not understand the world, (maybe I’d like to think it weren’t true) but I think I have grasped much of Christianity after about seven years of religion classes. I base my beliefs on reasoning as you have seen and because of this I never doubt the truth I have come to accept.
Now I have to say that I most likely will not answer your next post (Though I will read it) because I see that we have different views and I do not think this is getting anywhere. I am not angry at you or anything like that. I am sorry again for hurting you.
Praying for your well being,
Jonathan
To Xeno,
You do not understand Christianity (not "Jesusism", please) and therefore cannot speak for it. I will not explain to you why what you about it is wrong.
When you said "Face it, science works" I agree but science, of course, has its limitations. For example: can anyone scientifically prove that I view the color green as you do? For all you know I could view green as your red and your red as my green (see science has its limitations…think about it). And if you want to use science, then you must realize that science points more to a Christian view of the world than to a Naturalistic view of the world(i.e. that all that exists in world can be reduced down to energy and matter and that no supernatural exists) And again if you do not believe in a supernatural being that created the universe than you must believe that at some point in time that matter appeared out of nowhere(something supernatural that contradicts the view of naturalism…ironic) because you cannot explain what caused the Big Bang and what caused the cause of the Big Bang going backwards indefinitely without the existence of some supernatural being (God).
Jonathan, I was a Christian for years. Many of my close friends still are.
Yes, your perception of color as compared to mine can be scientifically measured. This is done using colored dots of equal brightness and comparing your answers to mine and to other peoples. These sorts of tests are used to detect color blindness.
Which is more absurd, that matter appeared out of nothing, or that God appeared out of nothing and then created matter out of nothing?
Apparently a cellphone porn pic was already taken of them.
Exploitation or ?
[link removed]
The photo in the link you posted was a fake. Our team of experts have found this proof to protect the twins reputation:
http://www.xenophilia.com/img/faked.jpg
(Warning, adult situation)
WOW!
Fast detective work. Job well done!
I still have tertiary syphilis.
So there.
you 2 are pretty
What happens if one dies? Would the other automaticly die too? Or would the other just keep living with the other hanging thr? i dont mean this insulting but its a question
Depending on their wishes, doctors may try to separate the one who survives. This is usually difficult if they share a circulatory system, however. By the time that difficult decision must be made, significant advances will likely have been made in medicine, so it's anybody's guess.
kinda wierd question but if they both have their own nervous system, which one feels intercourse? ...
The twins do not answer such questions.
LOL its "Anonymous." Can no one spell it correctly?
I like "Ann On A Mouse". I think that would be a great band name.
Thank you for presenting your responses in a clear, logical way! I'm proud of you, and glad to call you my brother. Continue in Christ and His everlasting love,
~=P~
PS- continue to pray for the Holy Spirit to move in other's hearts
I would hope that nothing ever happens to the twins. I wondered too what would happen if one died, but then I got to thinking that I should not dwell on such ideas. The simple fact is that the twins are alive and well and that is all there is to it! :-) I would imagine that they currently try to avoid publicity, but it sure would be a pleasure meeting them someday. Many take life for granted and these two are living life to their fullest and that is the way to go!
I heard somewhere they like bowling? We could use a few extra bowlers here in Virgina. lol None of us are very good mind you, but would love the company! :-) God Bless..
Nathan
While I agree that their love and dating life is really no one's business, I cannot lie..i would looooooove to marry them...no questions asked... I would propose to them without delay! I grow tired of meeting girls that cause nothing but drama and play mind games. Abigail and Brittany are very mature young ladies...you don't meet sweet and mature girls everyday.
I would think that whoever marries them would have to love them both individually for their strengths and weaknesses and physically as one person (no offense intended). One site I found said that in simplified terms above the waist they are two people, below the waist, they function as one. It would be impossible to have a physical relationship separately and the more people you bring into a 'relationship', the more comnplicated emotions get. I would imagine they could get an exception to the 'bigamy' laws. I don't think any judge in the world would deny them that.
However, the twins have come up with unique solutions to unique problems. I wonder how they are doing college. Who decides which classes to take, what major, etc? If they are going for two different degrees, that could take quite awhile.
I understand their need for privacy, but this blog is evidence that with a few exceptions, most people are positive in their support.
Jennifer L
How about specific.........?? Bad keys too?
I'd just like to say a great big "hello" and all my best wishes to the girls! I heard they're going to college. Their personalities remind me so much of my two granddaughters, both independent and very different, yet so much like each other. Keep up the good work, girls! Love ya both!
Sharon Caballero
Savannah, Ga.
ourstage.com/profile/lynnepowell
It would be illegal for them to marry the same man, polygamy is unlawful in the U.S.They are classified as two different people, they each have their own heart and their own brain. They also have individual personalities therefore they probably wouldn't want to marry the same man.
They wouldn't be legally able to marry one man that would be considered polygamy. It is outlawed in the US.
If the parents attempted to separate the twins at birth would, most likely, kill one of them, if not both, they share one liver meaning the one with the smaller half of the liver would probably die without an almost immediate transplant, also in the torso the two sets of lungs and two hearts are extremely close, if separation was attempted major arteries could be cut or damaged killing both. They also only have one bladder, and one set of reproductive organs, how would that be divided up? Chances are that if they were separated the twins life would be much harder or there might have only been one alive or both could have died.
I love it when those who care less about Christianity begin preaching legalities. Abuse of scripture runs amok among the non christian types.
Despite being a personal and potentially offensive question, it is also probably one of the most important questions to be asked. The fact that they share a lower body, including the sexual organs, will necessarily lead to the need for a change in the entire legal system concerning the laws of marriage (if they decide to pursue marriage and the possibility of offspring) and the philosophical issues concerning the human identity. Such problems as the potential breach of laws against bigamy and even the question as to which twin would be the true mother (begettor) of any child they produce cannot be solved by their own decision, unless they take a joint degree in philosophy and anatomy and thereby gain the necessary expertise to make such a decision. In short, the implications of such a condition reaches out to a far bigger picture than that which is wholly contained within the Hensel twins themselves.
Dear Anon
Darwin's observation of the systematic implantation of wasp eggs under the skin of a certain caterpillar, leading to the chemical control of that caterpillar as a slave to the growth of the wasp larvae beneath its skin, releasing chemicals that lead to the altering of its limited mental faculties into sacrificing its life to protect the young wasps upon bursting out from its interior led him to conclude that God cannot possibly exist.
riiiiiiiiight.......
and has anyone tried this recently and come to the same conclusion?
Nope.
I don't think that it will be too hard for them to find a guy that would marry them or live with them. Most guys dream of two girls giving them oral sex.
I bet who ever said that was Xeno extolling himself/herself (who can tell with his bizarre name)
did u see there documentary it waz awesome
a few questions...
if one of them is nervous, does the increase in adrenalin affect the other as well?
if one heart failed would they be able to survive using the other?
if one stops breathing can they survive on one pair of lungs?
abby brittney i love you both
abbby brittney if you wan to email my my eamil is nickdali3@hotmail.co.uk
abby brittne if you want to phone me our home number is [deleted. - Sorry, I can't be sure this is your phone number nick. To prevent people from prank calling this number and costing it a lot of money I have to remove it. You can post an email address if you like. - Xeno]
wow way to be an asshole, it was just a question
Out of all the questions you could ask, why would you ask such a question? You are either incredibly stupid or just plain rude.
would you mind if I use this quote for a shirt i am designing for social-t.com?
"I wish I had a soulmate that I could share everything with, who would always stay with me and never leave me, who would always be there when I needed to talk. They are the blessed ones."
My design features two beautiful conjoined twins, and this quote would be along the bottom hem.
I hope that is ok. Feel free to email me if you want to see the design or have a question.
thanks
~HeatherRose
I for one am proud of these two in one girls for living a "normal" life. What is normal anyway. My life is simple in its complexity in comparison to these two girls. I only have microtia and microsomia. Facial birth defects. Congenital in nature, not genetic. I have to say that it seems there are a lot of people who have posted on this site that likely have far more struggles dealing with their "perfect" physical condition than the girls and myself and others with birth defects do. I took a chance and because my condition was congenital, my two children came out fine, they did not carry on my physical anomalies. Yes for the pervs, they are my children. I don't mind people doing double takes or asking me questions. I am always glad to answer them and in so doing, they know the truth instead of some lame-brained theory of their own. You girls go on living life to its fullest! Kudos to you for ALL that you have done. I commend you both.
Sincerely,
James D. Lane
Oh yeah, my email: jdlmodelt@yahoo.com and my own website for dealing with my own birth defects:
www. facialdifferences. blogspot. com
Have a great day!
James
I think the whole thing is wrong. These parents have done a disservice to these children by keeping them together. How will they have sex? How will they major in different things in college? It just doesn't add up and I am very sad for them.
You guys/gals just don't get it. You would have that the parents aborted or knocked a hole in our heads so we would not have to "suffer" through life. All of the wonderful things that each of us who is not "like" the rest of you have contributed to society on ALL levels. I have a BS in Electrical Engineering and a Master's in Mining Engineering and I am the lead engineer at the company I work for, all through accomplishment and qualifications. I didn't even have any help through my life with "entitlements". Haha.
Medically, I don't think the girls could be separated without compromising the existence of one of them and no one has the right to decide who that should be.
If you can't stand the sight or thought of the condition of these two then stop looking and stop thinking about it. Stop being so selfish to think that their lives should be adjusted or altered to satisfy what YOU think is best for them OR the world.
Live your OWN life.
James
They wouldn't have to worry about marrying the same guy. One would get married to the guy and then he would just have another chick on the side. Or they could be swingers and get off making the beast with two and a half backs. They could have a most lucrative future in porn, and you all know what I mean, the absolutely rare QP! You'd never be satisfied with DP ever again, perverts.
Jonathan, you say that every religion but christianity is wrong, have you studied every religion and how can you prove yours right and theirs wrong? Also, if your God is so great and loving, why would he condem billions of people to hell simply for living in the wrong part of the world where they did not learn christianity. If Hitler were christian would he get into heaven while truely wonderful people who give everything but happen to believe in a different God go to hell? If this is true I'm sure heaven would be kind of a crappy place. Why is the christian God so jealous he would damn people to hell forever just for not knowing him? christianity makes God sound like an abusive husband or father love me or suffer. I'm a human who has major faults but i would never damn someone to eternal suffering. I would send them there for hundreds of years as punishment or whatever fit the bill. but going to hell forever just for not believing in Jesus is cruel and I don't think I could love someone like that even if they did create me.
Xeno, most people's beliefs in a higher being are obscured by blind faith and upbringing of a devout family. You can't expect them to fully, or even attempt to understand evolution because they will simply pass it off as either a hoax or another act of "god." Although if you ask who created god, they go off on a tangent and evade your questions.
Xeno, rock on. It's good to know that the world is not completely devoid of rational, free thinking beings.
I think it's funny that Scott thinks that one set of reproductive organs equals one woman as opposed to the concept that two minds/brains/personalities equal two women. He's basically saying that the woman is equal to her reproductive organs as opposed to her individuality. It's up to them and the people with whom they fall in love to make it work.
"Light", Christians can say the very same thing to you...that your mind was obscured because of what you were taught in school or what your friends and family brought you up to believe (i.e. evolution).
If you want evidence of why Christianity is true you can simply look it up online (I already gave evidence in previous posts and to no avail...so I will not repeat myself). But all the religions of the world do not HAVE to be studied in order to prove they are false, because Christianity has a main doctrine that Christianity is the ONLY way to heaven (It is in the Bible repeatedly) and therefore by proving Christianity true all the others are wrong. And to your questions of why would a supposedly loving God condemn so many to hell for eternity, this is my defense: we are all born into sin and everyone has sinned, meaning that we all are JUSTLY deserving of God sending all of us to hell, but God LOVINGLY gave His holy Son (Jesus) as a sacrifice so that Jesus would take our place by dying on the cross for us (he also resurrected from the dead conquering sin) and save those who believe in Him. It may still seem unfair to you and to many others but in reality it is fair.
I will most likely not respond to your next post, sorry.
Praying for you,
Jonathan
amen, anon.
good lord. ugh. you people are driving me nuts.
xeno(you need a new name) if your as smart as you act then why do you have the time to sit around and do this? honestly. you make me want to kick cats.
On the internet, you can start a conversation about drainage pipes and somehow it gets back to evolution and God.
Ugh.
On the note of evolution- If we're pretty much monkeys, then explain why we(some) have the want to find greater meaning in life and they don't.
I could go on and on about this mess. But I have a life. A life that I love thanks to a wonderful thing I like to call my faith.
By the way, when I said greater meaning in life, I meant any kind of religion.
The girls are two separate people because each has a brain and heart, as someone else mentioned earlier on this thread. There wont need of any change in the legal system or for the girls to get a "joint-degree" in philosophy and anatomy because they're two separate people. They share separate DNA, which is what would probably be used to determine the maternity of the children they bear. Though religious types on this thread seem to think it's only appropriate for the girls to share a husband, I find that to be immoral - it'd be polyamory that way. Ethically, they should and probably will have separate husbands and will each bear their own children.
Figure out your basic scientific principles before you comment on this type of stuff, people.
I understand what you've been saying throughout this thread, and I think it's completely plausible. I think MOST people just aren't yet ready or able to understand how DNA works and where we really come from because of our DNA. It's a fascinating subject.
Perhaps when they have to submit DNA to determine the maternity of their children they'll be ready to allow some simple testing to learn more about their physiology. It would be interesting to know more about how their body works, without invading their privacy and normalcy. No need to ravage their lives for the sake of science.
Or freaking curious. Seriously. Does one or both feel it? Is masturbation a committe effort? These are real questions, and denying their validity is stupid. They're over 18 now, not only is it legal to ponder such things but the girls themselves have to face such issues themselves in real life.
Xeno is correct, they haven't answered such questions, and when asked something along that line in their 16th birthday TV special they said they're not to the point of figuring these things out.
So save the rage for something that isn't so real-life.
I certainly mean no offense to anyone posting comments on here, but what's with all the sexual talk? I sure hope some of the comments that get posted on here don't make their way back to the twins... Geeeezz.. There are indeed some really supportive and very nice comments on here, but unfortunately there are some others that should be removed entirely.
I forget what station I saw the documentary on, but hopefully I will catch it the whole thing again. It sure put me into thought the rest of the night... Shucks..i was up half the night because the story was so touching. It really makes you stop and think...very hard too! It reminds us of the many morals and lessons that so many of us have forgotten as we got older.
I could go on forever about it, but I will say here that these two girls remind us that life is such a precious gift, one not to be taken for granted!
In keeping with this doctrine, I have come here not to ask silly questions, but say this:
I see these twins no differently from any other person I have run into. I would treat them like I would treat anyone. Ok, so I would be excited to be able to talk to them! haha I can't lie there! But other than that, they are just like the next person....
I hope to God that they have not been forced into go through medical tests and experiments or what not.
From what I have learned, they are better left conjoined. God intended them to be conjoined..they are doing just fine....and it looks to me like they can do some things twice as good because of God's plan. :-) Enough said. No more experiments or silly questions..
One of the questions I was not happy to see on the post was about the twins sex life and whether they would have one or two boyfriends.. Who cares? It's not like it is our business anyway. Those topics are up to them and not for us to ponder.
Xeno..if I remember correctly, you run this page. I'd love to hear your comments on what i have said. I am not the best at explaining things the best way, so if you have things to add, please let me know.
Best regards to the twins..
Nathan
Hi Nathan,
Thanks for posting. Much appreciated.
- I do remove spam and troll comments, and I try to keep this site roughly PG-13.
- Well, you seem curiously uncurious. Wondering about all sorts of things is normal and healthy. It is okay for people to pose questions and equally okay for the twins not to answer.
- Do you really believe in a God who plans conjoined twins? Hmmm. That just seems a bit odd to me. I think a random genetic mishap seems more likely.
- You also seem to believe everything is pre-planned. I think the truth about that depends upon your reference time frame. It is easy to say, "it was fate" after the fact and there is no way to prove otherwise... but if there is a plan, where is it written? ;-)
Perhaps one of the readers here will know of an experiment in physics about causality which will clear this "Fate" thing up...
I believe that God sent this world in motion, perhaps millions of others too. He sits back and enjoys his creation, perhaps not allowing Himself to know what is to happen. Wants change, wants us to be imperfect and work toward a higher plane of existence. Perhaps some day we will progress to a point where we will be able and worthy to speak with Him on His level. How lonely it must be to be an omnipotent being, with no equal. But nobody and I mean nobody knows the answer to this idea or any other and to act like you do shows more ignorance than knowledge. Faith is not fact although many like to blend the two.
@Lalachic
Your an idiot... According to your statement: "Ethically, they should and probably will have separate husbands and will each bear their own children."
Let me know how this works out when the DNA results coma back showing Abigail's husband as the genetic father of Brittany's child... This in terms of "ethic's" would be considered adultery with a bastard child as a result...
I am in no way religious, nor do I fully dis-believe in religion(s). I would agree on 1 husband or even 2 if they so choose... And to hell with the legal system...
I think religious ethic's and morals should be left out of these girls lives if they so choose, as many of them are closed minded and outdated.
Also the legal system would need to make exceptions... What if one of them commits a crime worthy of incarceration? And the other one is forced to take part against her will? Do you punish both or does the criminal go free?
All and all I think these girls are chaos* incarnate and that makes them awesome!
*noun
1. a state of utter confusion or disorder; a total lack of organization or order.
2. any confused, disorderly mass: a chaos of meaningless phrases.
LOL Ca$h in!
Dear god no... Imagine the arguments!! lolz
lol via mutations / time?
I'm sure that it would be devastating on too many levels to think of...
Opinion noted... Good job. You have determined that, their parents are evil terrible people!!! Your so smart. lols
I'd like to commend myself for having the balls to call out these imbeciles... Yay me!
Agreed! Well said.
1st part was blah.. But your closing statement.. AWESOME lol
Pat... Your awesome!
Hey Xeno,
I like your response. It's very fair to ask "Do you really believe in a God who plans conjoined twins?" Good question. I am a believer in a divine Creator. There are far too many precise balances from the microscopic to the cosmos if altered in the minutest amounts would wreak havoc. That all aside, the context of this discussion surrounds your above quoted comment with which I agree. I don't believe God "planed or plans conjoined twins." I believe there are mutations that have been introduced since the very beginning of life on earth. I believe that just as there are "good forces" at work in our universe, so there are also "bad forces" at work in our universe. Consequently, I don't believe God caused the conjoined twins, nor did He cause my microsomial and microtia facial abnormalities. I believe they were a result of mutations, those "bad forces" at work and I believe that no matter what the bad guy throws at us, God will always make something good out of a bad situation.
That's about all I can offer for now.
thanks, Xeno.
James
It seems more likely he was equating a woman's body to her circulatory system or what is directly attached to her than a vagina or womb. I can't say that for sure of course, but it is interesting that that is what you assume. Tell me is it your mind in the gutter or do you just have such a low amount of respect for humanity.
Hi, you know what i am curious how they have sex!! and who feels what!! i think its pretty interesting!! i have come across a picture that involves the girls doing something (which i wont post cause thats just rude) its upsetting cause they clearly didn't know it was being taken!! maybe if other conjoined twins of legal age could let us know a little then the sick minded curious ppl wouldn't take pictures of them unexpectedly!! and of course I'm jut curious not sick minded lol
I'm quite impressed with the twins and think they've done quite well over the years. They obviously have maintained a mature and positive outlook on life, and have deflected the negativity that some humans can be known for putting off. I think they're awesome!
As for their personal lives... True, I am even curious how it works, but it's their business. It's human nature to be curious. It's a gift that drives our society. It's up to them to decide how to handle it. They may never tell, and that's fine. They are truly amazing, because they are different, but they live like they weren't.
As for the other posters out there...
[Moved to the Evolution vs Creation Debate]
These two posters I've observed just rub me the wrong way...
Digimancer, you're all over this thread with insults, I call shenanigans... I think you're just trolling. I could be wrong though, but it's not much of a stretch of the imagination to think you are.
[Moved to the Evolution vs Creation Debate]
This post was moved to the Evolution vs Creation Debate.
Pat, I agree that the twins seem super cool.
[...] perfect pitch…The Evolution / Crea… on A Quick Biology Lesson: Identi…Xeno on Abigail and Brittany Hensel: M…richfiles on Abigail and Brittany Hensel: M…chaithanya sreelal on Faced with rising sea [...]
I was really shocked when I saw this! My inital reaction was they were really weird (dont bite me 4 this) but then I saw everything they've gone through and I think they're pretty amazing. I'd have gone crazy! I mean, me and my sister are really close but we have our arguments and like to get away from each other!
Benefits: Always someone there. Someone to hug. Combine your knowledge for homework and tests :D
Negatives: Probably can't have any sexual relationship - how would it work? I don't understand.
I just wanted to say and no one has said this i don't think, what if one of them died quite young? Because their side would just rot? It couldn't be cut off or anything.
Would they both get cancer or just one?
Please don't criticise me, I'm just trying to think how challenging their lives must be.
They should get an award or something.
I just can't imagine what it must be like to be them, no one can.
When I was in grade six a few years ago, my class had a science fair. I did my project on conjoined twins, I went on the internet one day and I saw the hensel twins and learned alot about them and I just thought they were incredible! So i mostly did my science fair project on them. And everyone loved it, and i got an A on it! It was an awsome day for me!!! So if the Hensel twins are reading this message, I am saying thank you to them!!
I hope the Hensel twins do really well in school and follow their dream. i am really amazed at how they work together in things that we all think they can't do. I think they are really special girls and someday I would like to meet them!!
Love from,
Robyn.
P.S. this is my Email, muffinhead08@hotmail.com :)
Hilary Duff is much better than anyone else.
Well, I don't think so!
Neither do I! :(
i could only imagine that they would handle sex and marriage in the same manner they have learned to handle everything else in their lives. compromise, arguement and when all else fails, bribery.
With all due respect, that is the least persuasive argument I have ever read on the internet.
Christianity is the true religion because (a) some websites on the internet say it is, and (b) the main tenet of Christianity says that it is the path to heaven.
Am I getting this right?
I don't know what you do for a living, but whatever it is, do not go into advertising.
Yes, a perfectly legitimate question to ask.
And and equally legitimate response is "none of your damn business".
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