Thread: Twins

No, there isn't.

Twins are pretty interesting in the law. If you're ever charged with murder (to which there were witnesses and genetic evidence), you can just claim the other did it. Or you can even claim you are the other twin. In situations where the courts can't distinguish between the two, they have to prosecute neither.

Edit: I should say, although the DNA will be identical, it may be possible in the future that techniques could be developed to detect epigenetic inheritance. Biologists have recently realised that a parent's experiences can change some of the proteins and structure of the chromosomes, causing the child to inherit some environmental traits, and so it may in theory be possible. I don't know about the current status of this.

I wonder how child support would pan out if it was just a one night fling.

I imagine it would be analogous to murder, in that you couldn't punish either of them for something that can't be proven to be anything to do with them. But I have no idea, it's an interesting question...

Obviously the child must be aborted. Too many ramifications.

Originally Posted by Xei

Twins are pretty interesting in the law. If you're ever charged with murder (to which there were witnesses and genetic evidence), you can just claim the other did it. Or you can even claim you are the other twin. In situations where the courts can't distinguish between the two, they have to prosecute neither.

Unless there are fingerprints... but if that's the ONLY evidence, I doubt that would be beyond a reasonable doubt

My twin brother and I would appreciate the answer to this as soon as possible.

Wow, since paternity tests use DNA, and twin's DNA are identical, I guess there is no way to tell.

She shouldn't have been such a hoflake.

Originally Posted by Auron

happened to sleep with twins on the same night?

Hotttt

/thoughtfulcontribution

Originally Posted by Auron

Okay without searching through the Internet or books... Does anyone know if there's a way to tell who's the father of a child when mother happened to sleep with twins on the same night?

Nope, just blame your brother.

The strange thing about this is... would it even matter? Any sperm from one might as well have come from the other.

If the same woman produced two children, each from one of the twins, they wouldn't be half-siblings. They would be just as genetically similar as if they had come from the same parent.

Yes, it would matter. They are not the same person just because they have the same genetics.

I think she meant if the woman had fraternal twins. That is to say, one sperm from one twin, and another sperm from the other twin. She would have to have had ovulated 2 eggs of course. But the random combination of DNA would produce 2 babies with separate DNA, though similar enough to be 'siblings'.

Still, which father belongs to which baby? No clue.

Edit: No wait I read it wrong. If she had a baby from one twin, than later had another from the 2nd twin. Still I think the same principle would apply to my fucked up fraternal twin from identical twin dads thing. But damn, hope it never happens in real life O_O

Originally Posted by OpheliaBlue

I think she meant if the woman had fraternal twins. That is to say, one sperm from one twin, and another sperm from the other twin. She would have to have had ovulated 2 eggs of course. But the random combination of DNA would produce 2 babies with separate DNA, though similar enough to be 'siblings'.

Still, which father belongs to which baby? No clue.

Edit: No wait I read it wrong. If she had a baby from one twin, than later had another from the 2nd twin. Still I think the same principle would apply to my fucked up fraternal twin from identical twin dads thing. But damn, hope it never happens in real life O_O

Oh I was responding to the would it matter bit, not the two different eggs bit lol
And for some reason I read the other bit of her post the same as you did lol

I wonder if it would be possible to write up two birth certificates for one child. Then they'd have a back up identity who they could claim was visiting relatives in Europe.

Originally Posted by tommo

Yes, it would matter. They are not the same person just because they have the same genetics.

I understand that to us, it would seem to make an important difference. It would seem that if the sperm came from one of them, then he is 'really' the father somehow. Which is true on the surface, but genetically, the sperms the two twins are capable of producing are identical, so there is no genetic difference between the pool of potential sperms and therefore none between the pool of potential babies. The only difference left is which testicle happened to produce the impregnating sperm. And how relevant is that fact, really? Is the determiner of whether or not someone's father is his father that he shares half of his DNA, or that the sperm was directly produced by his body? Isn't the importance of the latter fact kind of illusory?

We all know the facts, and this really is only a discussion of how to perceive the situation. Another question that brings up the same issue comes to mind. If a woman were impregnated with an artificial sperm that was an exact copy of one of your own sperms, would you be the father of the resulting child?

My mind has been pushed to its philosophical limits.

Originally Posted by Dianeva

I understand that to us, it would seem to make an important difference. It would seem that if the sperm came from one of them, then he is 'really' the father somehow. Which is true on the surface, but genetically, the sperms the two twins are capable of producing are identical, so there is no genetic difference between the pool of potential sperms and therefore none between the pool of potential babies. The only difference left is which testicle happened to produce the impregnating sperm. And how relevant is that fact, really? Is the determiner of whether or not someone's father is his father that he shares half of his DNA, or that the sperm was directly produced by his body? Isn't the importance of the latter fact kind of illusory?

You're only legally responsible for the sperm produced in your own testicles, so it would matter.

Originally Posted by OpheliaBlue

My mind has been pushed to its philosophical limits.

You can thank Jerry Springer for that.

Originally Posted by khh

You're only legally responsible for the sperm produced in your own testicles, so it would matter.

Yeah, I realise that it seems to matter to people without really thinking about it, and by extension to the law. That's irrelevant to what I'm getting at though. I'm asking if it really should matter to us.