The Archbishop of Westminster, Dr Cormac Murphy-O'Connor, has said the attempt to save the life of one Siamese twin, Jodie, at the expense of her sister, Mary, should be considered morally impermissible.
In a dramatic intervention in the life-and-death dilemma over the fate of the twins, the leader of the Catholic Church in England and Wales told the Appeal Court: "The refusal by the parents of Jodie and Mary to consent to surgery to separate them involves no injustice towards either of the children and is indeed wholly reasonable on the grounds that they have advanced."
In his written submission to the court, the Archbishop of Westminster continued: "In particular, respect for the rights of both their children makes any other choice on their part morally impossible."
The archbishop made his unprecedented intervention as counsel for the twins' parents, Mr Simon Taylor, submitted medical evidence to the effect that the twins' death was not imminent, and warned the court must be "very careful" about the certainty of imminent death.
A cardiologist at Great Ormond Street Hospital had estimated a greater than 10 to 20 per cent chance that the twins would survive beyond the six months originally envisaged. "I'm aware that that raises a horrible spectre of survival going into years. God knows how many years, but it exists," the court was told.
The parents of the twins - given false names to protect their identity - believe separating the twins is not God's will and want nature to take its course, even if it means losing them both. Doctors say an operation could give Jodie a chance of full life but will mean killing Mary, who has just a primitive brain and relies on her sister's heart and lung function.
Hoping to assist the judges "in deciding this tragic and heartrending case, in which everyone is clearly trying to discern, and to do, what is for the best", the archbishop said his argument stemmed from the belief "that God has given to humankind the gift of life, and as such it is to be revered and respected."
He continued: "Though the duty to preserve life is a serious duty, no such duty exists when the only available means of preserving life involves a great injustice." In this case, he continued, "if what is envisaged is the killing of, or a deliberate lethal assault on, one of the twins, Mary, in order to save the other, Jodie, there is a grave injustice involved."
The archbishop went on: "The good end would not justify the means. It would set a very dangerous precedent to enshrine in English case law that it was ever lawful to kill, or to commit a deliberate lethal assault on, an innocent person that good may come of it, even to preserve the life of another."
Calling for the "natural authority of the parents" to be respected, the archbishop said this could only be overridden where there was clear evidence they were acting "contrary to what is strictly owing to their children".
An infant Colombian Siamese twin has died, less than 24 hours after she was separated from her sister who was "delicate but stable".
--(Reuters)