JEDDAH, 25 January 2005 — It is impossible to separate the Saudi Siamese twins for medical and ethical reasons, according to Dr. Abdullah Al-Rabeeah, chief pediatric surgeon at the National Guard’s King Abdul Aziz Medical City in Riyadh. But religious opinions differed on the ethics of their surgical separation.
Dr. Rabeeah, a pioneer in surgically separating conjoined twins, told a press conference at the National Guard Hospital in Jeddah that medical tests conducted on the twins ruled out the possibility of separating the two, who were born in Hera General Hospital in Makkah a week ago to Saudi parents. The tests were conducted on the instruction of Crown Prince Abdullah who wanted the surgeons to explore the possibility of separating Abdul Rahman and Abdul Rahim.
The twins have one body, one spinal cord, two heads, two lungs and two joint hearts. One of the twins is suffering from a heart condition, with a deformity in his artery, which will be an obstacle to any attempt at surgical separation.
Dr. Al-Rabeeah said that this is a rare case among 28 separation surgeries carried out so far at the medical city.
When contacted by Arab News, Sheikh Abdul Waheed Al-Qahtani of the Fatwa Committee said: “One of the twins should never be killed if both are in good health. If, however, one of them is in weak condition then they should be separated if that means sacrificing the life of one will help the other to live”.
But another scholar called for the separation of the twins for the survival of one of them even if the other may die. Sheikh Ibraheem Al-Khudair stated that a Muslim is not supposed to view another man’s private parts. “Ali the fourth Caliph said that a man is not to see another man’s sexual organs,” said Al-Khudair.
The scholar said that if it is medically acceptable then it is required that the twins must be separated even if it means the loss of one of the lives.
