2008 Woodie Awards
MES Explores Scientific, Halakhic Facets of Conjoined Twins
Miriam Merzel
Issue date: 4/15/08 Section: Science and Health
On Tuesday, March 18, the Yeshiva University Student Medical Ethics Society (MES), together with the Center for the Jewish Future, sponsored an event entitled "Separating Conjoined Twins in Jewish Law." The lecture, whose topic was chosen at an MES board meeting at the beginning of the semester, featured three speakers addressing different aspects of the debate on separating conjoined twins.
"We thought the topic of surgical separation of conjoined twins would be interesting, as well as having important halakhic ramifications, being that it touches on the topic of rodef, where one person is chasing another to kill him," explained Michael Plaut (YC '09), one of the event's organizers. Plaut and David Harari (YC '08) planned the program with the assistance of MES Co-President Aaron Kogut (YC '08) and Rabbi Dr. Edward Reichman.
Dr. Gerard Weinberg, professor of Clinical Pediatrics and professor of Clinical Surgery at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine (AECOM), lectured on the medical aspects concerning the separation of conjoined twins, having personally participated in such kinds of surgical procedures.
"Dr. Weinberg was very interesting, since he did one of the most recent and complicated surgeries on conjoined twins," commented Elana Clark (SCW '08).
Weinberg started off his presentation with a brief history of conjoined twins, which occur in only one out of 50,000 live births. There is a disagreement over the cause of the conjoining. Some argue that the condition occurs when a fertilized egg fails to completely split, while others attribute it to a fusion of the two groups of cells formed once the fertilized egg has already split. Most conjoined twins die in-utero, at birth, or within one day of birth. In the past, such twins were viewed as abnormal creatures, monsters and signs of God's displeasure, and were often displayed in freak shows.
The AECOM surgeon also described the different ways in which twins can be joined. He focused on craniopagus, a condition in which twins are joined at the skull. Separation surgeries are best done earlier in the lifespan of the twins, before they realize they are joined. The surgeries range in difficulty, changing according to the point of connection and the extent to which the twins' bodily systems are intertwined. Progress in medicine has allowed for a better success rate than before.
"We thought the topic of surgical separation of conjoined twins would be interesting, as well as having important halakhic ramifications, being that it touches on the topic of rodef, where one person is chasing another to kill him," explained Michael Plaut (YC '09), one of the event's organizers. Plaut and David Harari (YC '08) planned the program with the assistance of MES Co-President Aaron Kogut (YC '08) and Rabbi Dr. Edward Reichman.
Dr. Gerard Weinberg, professor of Clinical Pediatrics and professor of Clinical Surgery at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine (AECOM), lectured on the medical aspects concerning the separation of conjoined twins, having personally participated in such kinds of surgical procedures.
"Dr. Weinberg was very interesting, since he did one of the most recent and complicated surgeries on conjoined twins," commented Elana Clark (SCW '08).
Weinberg started off his presentation with a brief history of conjoined twins, which occur in only one out of 50,000 live births. There is a disagreement over the cause of the conjoining. Some argue that the condition occurs when a fertilized egg fails to completely split, while others attribute it to a fusion of the two groups of cells formed once the fertilized egg has already split. Most conjoined twins die in-utero, at birth, or within one day of birth. In the past, such twins were viewed as abnormal creatures, monsters and signs of God's displeasure, and were often displayed in freak shows.
The AECOM surgeon also described the different ways in which twins can be joined. He focused on craniopagus, a condition in which twins are joined at the skull. Separation surgeries are best done earlier in the lifespan of the twins, before they realize they are joined. The surgeries range in difficulty, changing according to the point of connection and the extent to which the twins' bodily systems are intertwined. Progress in medicine has allowed for a better success rate than before.
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