• Quick note - the problem with Youtube videos not embedding on the forum appears to have been fixed, thanks to ZiprHead. If you do still see problems let me know.

Separated-at-birth twins marry

CFLarsen said:
Shouldn't they have discovered it, then?
Click to expand...

Do you mean the psychic link should have been discovered?

If you do, I agree - I was just making the point that those who believe in that sort of thing (like the person in my office who also believes in ghosts etc) will latch onto this story as proof of some mysterious psychic link between twins.

Personally, I think it is a coincidence reinforced by the liklehood that the two would be attracted to each other due to their similarities (without knowing the truth of the matter). In many ways it must be a tragic way to discover you have a twin though.
 
So a politician who was arguing in favor of pending legislation offered a story to support that legislation and provided no names, no dates, and no way of ever checking on the veracity of that story. Also, no explanation is given for how they learned they were related. Color me unimpressed.

Even if it were true, we don't know how far apart the families were. All the story would prove is that people fall in love with other people who are similar in age, appearance, and background.
 
Last edited:
I saw a documentary a while back about the phenomenon of relatives who, having grown up in separate households, fall madly in love when they are reunited. The theory is that we are naturally drawn to mates that share our genetic charactaristics, but not people we grow up with. Years of arguing, pulling pigtails, and tattling to Mom seem to dull the prospect of romance within families.

One couple in Spain was allowed to marry even after they found out they were brother and sister. They had normal children. As it turns out, the dreaded deformities that are supposed to happen when siblings reproduce is only slightly more likely than in the general public -- something like a 5% chance of birth defects.
 
"And if you don't know you are biologically related to someone, you may become attracted to them and tragedies like this may occur."
Click to expand...

I wasn't aware that the state had an interest in vetting the genetic compatability of potential mates. Should the same logic be applied to two unrelated people whose children would have a genetic propensity for dwarfism, or albanism?
 
Yeah, although incest kinda grosses me out, the arguments against it are pretty thin. And the arguments against same-sex incest are just moronic.

However, that's a slightly different issue to the story, as clearly the couple no longer wanted to remain married to each other once they knew they were related, unlike the couple in Spain.

The thing that bothers me is that a Lord is calling for a change in legislation and using an isolated, extremely rare case to support his argument.
 
aggle-rithm said:
IOne couple in Spain was allowed to marry even after they found out they were brother and sister. They had normal children. As it turns out, the dreaded deformities that are supposed to happen when siblings reproduce is only slightly more likely than in the general public -- something like a 5% chance of birth defects.
Click to expand...

Hard to imagine yourself in that situation I know, but if you found out your prespective husband/wife was actually your long lost brother/sister do you think you'd still want to marry and have children? I can't imagine I would.
 
tkingdoll said:
Yeah, although incest kinda grosses me out, the arguments against it are pretty thin. And the arguments against same-sex incest are just moronic.

However, that's a slightly different issue to the story, as clearly the couple no longer wanted to remain married to each other once they knew they were related, unlike the couple in Spain.

The thing that bothers me is that a Lord is calling for a change in legislation and using an isolated, extremely rare case to support his argument.
Click to expand...

We don't know if they broke up the marriage because they found out that they were twins, or because he snores, or any other reason. It's just implied, by a politician exploiting their situation to change adoption laws. A simple genetic test could answer the question of relatedness, so I have a feeling he's just a lying scum bag.
 
Ladewig said:
So a politician who was arguing in favor of pending legislation offered a story to support that legislation and provided no names, no dates, and no way of ever checking on the veracity of that story. Also, no explanation is given for how they learned they were related. Color me unimpressed.

Even if it were true, we don't know how far apart the families were. All the story would prove is that people fall in love with other people who are similar in age, appearance, and background.
Click to expand...

As reported, it doesn't suggest that it was a recent case. Not likely, because it's a long time (60s?) since twins could have been separated for adoption and not told about each other.

So, how did they meet, and how did they discover after the marriage that they were brother and sister?

Lord Alton or the judge could have made the whole thing up, but it could also be a basically true tale that's grown in the telling. How about this for a plausible scenario:

One twin was brought up by its parents and the other by a childless relative that lived nearby, as their own. This is quite a common situation in the 'separated twin' studies of Burt and others, when the parents couldn't afford to support both of them. They married in secret, because their parents disapproved (without telling them why). When they confessed to their parents about the marriage, the secret had to come out. Their attraction would be no more remarkable than cousins wishing to marry – hardly unusual.

My Dad was a registrar of births, deaths and marriages, and he told me about a case when a woman and her half-uncle came in to register their marriage. They were of a similar age, and simply hadn't known that they were too closely related for marriage to be possible. It was especially sad because they were already living as a couple, and my Dad had to tell them that their relationship was illegal (don't know if it still would be), and they risked prosecution.
 
Lucky said:
As reported, it doesn't suggest that it was a recent case. Not likely, because it's a long time (60s?) since twins could have been separated for adoption and not told about each other.
Click to expand...

Wow, it didn't occur to me that he might have made it up from whole cloth, or cited something from decades earlier.

:boxedin:

I'd never make a good politician.
 
ImaginalDisc said:
Wow, it didn't occur to me that he might have made it up from whole cloth, or cited something from decades earlier.

:boxedin:

I'd never make a good politician.
Click to expand...
I don't actually think Lord Alton made it up – it would be a very odd thing to do, especially as it doesn't add much to his case. The judge could have been telling a tall story, not realising it would be used for a serious purpose. But I think it quite likely has some basis in fact. It's easy to think of minor changes that would make it quite plausible.
 
Just as a point of note I doubt he's just made it up, rather bad form to lie to the house and his reputation (he's not an Enoch Powell) but I would take the exact details with a large pinch of salt unless they are verified.
 
Lucky said:
Their attraction would be no more remarkable than cousins wishing to marry – hardly unusual.
Click to expand...

Indeed. My own great-grandparents were first cousins.

To anyone here tempted to reply "that explains a lot", don't bother :p
 
tkingdoll said:
Indeed. My own great-grandparents were first cousins.

To anyone here tempted to reply "that explains a lot", don't bother :p
Click to expand...
My Mum's family were from the Jewish communities of Hamburg and Altona – where they all seemed to be related to each other multiple times. It's interesting to look at the Stammbaum (family tree) and see the connections. Uncle-niece marriage was legal under German law (may still be), and there's an uncle-niece couple in the Stammbaum – not my direct ancestors (they didn't have any children).
 
bridgy said:
Hard to imagine yourself in that situation I know, but if you found out your prespective husband/wife was actually your long lost brother/sister do you think you'd still want to marry and have children? I can't imagine I would.
Click to expand...


Depends on how hot they were. :p
 
From the article: "And if you don't know you are biologically related to someone, you may become attracted to them and tragedies like this may occur."

How often has that happened?

So what kind of legislation, besides opening up sealed documents that were never intended to be seen, be passed? I'd have to believe sometimes there are very good reasons for the mother not wanting to be found.

Now if they made it easier for parents and children to get together if they wanted to, that would be a good idea.

And I think there have been cases of heath related reasons for seeking out the birth mother.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Back
Top Bottom