UK court rules DNA testing cannot identify which twin fathered child
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A panel of judges has ruled that it is impossible to determine which of two identical twins is the father of a woman’s baby.
According to court documents, the child (referred to as “P”), who was born in 2017, is now 8 years old.
A British woman identified only as “mother” reportedly had sexual intercourse with identical twins just four days apart.
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The application stated that the woman was still in a relationship with one of the twins named on the birth certificate, who initially acted as the legal father. The end of the relationship triggered a legal dispute.
According to court documents, the child (referred to as “P”), who was born in 2017, is now 8 years old. (Child not shown in picture) (iStock)
The mother and the twin, who are not named on the birth certificate, filed the lawsuit in an attempt to overturn an earlier decision and have him legally recognized as the child’s father, the document detailed.
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The Court of Appeals ruled that legal paternity rights go only to the genetic father. Although DNA testing shows that each twin has a 50/50 chance of being the father, there is no definitive answer.
“The truth about P’s paternity at the moment is that their father is one or the other of these two identical twins, but it is not possible to say which,” Judge Moylan said in the Court of Appeal decision.
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Moylan added that the child’s paternity was “dual and not a single man,” underlining the legal uncertainty created by the case.
Monozygotic (identical) twins share nearly identical genetic profiles, including markers used in standard paternity tests. (iStock)
The court declared that since neither twin could prove that he was the biological father, neither of them could be given legal parental responsibility.
The case is important because it reveals the limits of DNA evidence, which forms the basis of many legal cases.
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Previous medical research has shown that DNA testing of identical twins has long faced difficulties.
Monozygotic (identical) twins share nearly identical genetic profiles, including markers used in standard paternity tests; This means they “cannot be distinguished using standard DNA testing,” according to a study published in the journal Forensic Science International: Genetics.
The court declared that since neither twin could prove that he was the biological father, neither of them could be given legal parental responsibility. (iStock)
There are also more advanced methods, such as whole genome sequencing, that can detect some rare genetic mutations between twins, but researchers say these techniques are complex, expensive and not widely used in legal cases.
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A study published in PLOS Genetics confirms that distinguishing the DNA of identical twins requires highly specialized analysis that goes beyond standard forensic tests.
