CatherineM Posted February 16, 2014 Share Posted February 16, 2014 She's in Germany right now so the answer may take awhile. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Basilisa Marie Posted February 16, 2014 Share Posted February 16, 2014 What if they find two conjoined men who also share the same reproductive system? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HisChildForever Posted February 16, 2014 Share Posted February 16, 2014 What if they find two conjoined men who also share the same reproductive system? The plot thickens.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arfink Posted February 16, 2014 Share Posted February 16, 2014 Oye. I think they might be able to find a priest to marry them, but it would take some serious premarital counseling. The original Siamese twins married sisters. Took turns staying in each other's house. I suspect that this may be closer to what would actually happen if they wanted to be married in the Church. This lies so far outside of what Canon law normally covers that I suspect they would be considered an exception if they wanted to be. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pliny Posted February 16, 2014 Author Share Posted February 16, 2014 This in no way compares to the Siamese Twins, since they were each completely whole and shared no reproductive organs. They did share a fused liver. They could easily have been separated today. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pliny Posted February 17, 2014 Author Share Posted February 17, 2014 They can both eat and drink but have one stomach and one digestive tract. When they eliminate waste, it's both and not one or the other. Likewise if there were a pregnancy. So would the baby have two biological mothers? If a man were having sex with one, wouldn't he be having sex with both? Or could it be divided on a psychological level and could the one who is not the wife agree to somehow mentally zone out and leave her sister alone? If there could be a provision for one to marry I don't see why the same reasoning couldn't be used for the second one to also marry. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CatholicCid Posted February 17, 2014 Share Posted February 17, 2014 They can both eat and drink but have one stomach and one digestive tract. When they eliminate waste, it's both and not one or the other. Likewise if there were a pregnancy. So would the baby have two biological mothers? If a man were having sex with one, wouldn't he be having sex with both? Or could it be divided on a psychological level and could the one who is not the wife agree to somehow mentally zone out and leave her sister alone? If there could be a provision for one to marry I don't see why the same reasoning couldn't be used for the second one to also marry. Interestingly enough, according to their wikipedia article, they actually have two stomachs. Abigail Loraine Hensel and Brittany Lee Hensel (born March 7, 1990) are dicephalic parapagus twins, meaning that they areconjoined twins, each of whom has a separate head, but whose bodies are joined. They are highly symmetric, giving the appearance of having just a single body with little variation from normal proportion. In fact, several vital organs are doubled up; each twin has a separate heart, stomach, spine, and spinal cord. I would wonder if the two stomachs connect to a single digestive tract or how that might work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pliny Posted February 17, 2014 Author Share Posted February 17, 2014 My mistake about the stomachs. But I do know for certain they have just one exit for the waste and just one set of reproductive organs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhuturePriest Posted February 17, 2014 Share Posted February 17, 2014 (edited) I know of twins who when they were born were conjoined at the hair. It was no more than a two second fix. Edited February 17, 2014 by FuturePriest387 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IgnatiusofLoyola Posted February 17, 2014 Share Posted February 17, 2014 Trying not to get too explicit, but since the two women share one set of reproductive organs, I assume that if sexual intercourse took place, and one woman experienced "female marital pleasure," then the other woman would experience the same sensations, making it more difficult for her to "psychologically tune out." However, these young women (and other conjoined twins I have read about) have had to get used to sharing things that I can't imagine, so I couldn't rule out the ability of one woman to "tune out" if the other woman was having intercourse with her husband. Also, I don't know if having two spinal cords would affect that particular nervous system response. Another question to which I don't know the answer is if the women are physically able to conceive and carry a child to term. That issue brings up another host of issues with regard to Catholic marriage. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OnlySunshine Posted February 17, 2014 Share Posted February 17, 2014 Trying not to get too explicit, but since the two women share one set of reproductive organs, I assume that if sexual intercourse took place, and one woman experienced "female marital pleasure," then the other woman would experience the same sensations, making it more difficult for her to "psychologically tune out." However, these young women (and other conjoined twins I have read about) have had to get used to sharing things that I can't imagine, so I couldn't rule out the ability of one woman to "tune out" if the other woman was having intercourse with her husband. Also, I don't know if having two spinal cords would affect that particular nervous system response. Another question to which I don't know the answer is if the women are physically able to conceive and carry a child to term. That issue brings up another host of issues with regard to Catholic marriage. They had to have surgery in order to maximize the pleural cavity so they could breathe more efficiently. If that space was crowded, I'd imagine that the abdominal cavity would be the same or worse, in which case, there would be difficulty in allowing for fetal growth if they were able to conceive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CatherineM Posted February 17, 2014 Share Posted February 17, 2014 Here's the response I got: "Hi Catherine, This is an interesting case and question. I think (although I don’t have jurisprudence to draw on) that the Catholic Church would not recognize the valid marriage of these twins. First, theologically, marriage is understood as a covenant/contract between one man and one woman. In this case, there are two persons sharing one body. If they chose to marry two men, not one, the matter is complicated further when we think of consummation (c. 1141) of the marriage. I have put this question out to a few other canon law colleagues. If I get an enlightened response, I’ll forward it to you." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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