Bid to halt twins' separation fails

Artists impression of the twins at the centre of the legal battle

LONDON, England (Reuters) -- Campaigners have lost their legal attempt to stop an operation to separate conjoined twins which doctors say is likely to kill one baby but save her sister.

In a private hearing, a judge at the High Court in London rejected an application by ProLife Alliance Director Bruno Quintavalle to have the solicitor representing Mary, the weaker twin, replaced.

Quintavalle made the move after Mary's representative, Laurence Oates, decided not to appeal against a court ruling last month that the twins should be surgically separated, an operation that their parents do not want.

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If Quintavalle had won he would have challenged the doctors' right to proceed with the operation.

Doctors say Mary is likely to die as a result of the operation, which is now expected to be carried out next week, while her sister Jodie will have a better chance of survival.

Mary and Jodie were born in St Mary's Hospital in Manchester, northern England, on August 8 after their Maltese parents came to Britain seeking medical help.

The parents, who are devout Catholics, say God and not doctors should decide whether the twins live or die.

They are joined at the abdomen and share one heart and one pair of lungs. Doctors say Mary depends entirely on Jodie for her blood and both will die if surgery is not carried out soon.

Reuters contributed to this report.

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Conjoined Twins information
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