Conjoined twin parents tell of joy

The girls were joined at the hip before the operation

LONDON,England -- The parents of a conjoined twin girl separated from her sister who died have reportedly said they are now glad the operation went ahead.

The couple, devout Catholics who fought a long legal battle in Britain to halt the operation, told British newspapers they are pleased with the outcome.

Surviving twin Gracie Attard was on Sunday heading back to her parents home on the Mediterranean island of Gozo - seven months after her life-saving operation.

Her father Michaelangelo, 44, told the Mail on Sunday: "The decision was taken out of our hands in the end but we are happy that the decision to separate was taken by the judges.

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"It meant we didn't say 'Yes, kill Rosie to save Gracie'. There would have been great guilt if we had."

He added: "My wife Rina and I didn't want to separate them ever. It was against our strong religious beliefs.

"Of course we're now happy that we still have Gracie - this is the greatest Father's Day gift I could ever have wished for."

Rosie and Gracie were born on August 8 last year. They were joined at the hip, had a fused spine, and shared one heart and one pair of lungs.

Gracie was separated from her weaker sister Rosie in a marathon 20-hour operation at St Mary's Hospital in Manchester on November 7 last year. She is now 10-months-old.

As expected, Rosie died within hours of the operation and was buried earlier this year in Gozo.

Rina, 29, said it had taken her two days to draw the courage to even look at her babies after they were born.

"I was frightened about what I'd see. The first time I saw them I fainted and had to be taken to my room," she told the News of the World.

Doctors at St Mary's Hospital in the northern city of Manchester explained to the Attards that Rosie had no chance of survival but said, if separated, Gracie had a very good chance of living.

But the couple said they had become close to the girls and could not face the choice of allowing one to die to save the other.

With the backing of the Prolife Alliance anti-abortion group, they objected to surgery arguing that God should decide the girls' fate.

Since the separation, Gracie has staged a good recovery and is now well enough to return to her parents' Maltese island home.

"Everyone will be curious to see her," Michaelangelo said. "But they will see she is a normal girl."

British judges had banned the identification of the twins since their birth, but dropped the ruling on Friday allowing the parents to tell their story and take advantage of a media deal providing a £350,000 ($490,000) trust fund for Gracie.