NPR's Julie McCarthy reports that surgeons in Manchester, England have been separating conjoined twin girls at the center of a lengthy legal battle. The girls were born last August, joined at the abdomen and with a fused spin. They share a single heart and a pair of lungs. Their parents -- devout Roman Catholics -- brought them from Malta to Britain, seeking medical care. But the parents resisted surgery after learning that the operation would in all probability cause the death of one of the twins, in order to save the other. After a long ethical battle in the courts, the parents finally dropped the fight.
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