Identical Twins and A baby

I am assuming that if you have two identical male twins and they both have sex with a woman and she gets pregnent there is no way to tell which one of the twins is the father.

Is there anyway? Or is this the perfect crime

It might be possible to determine who the father is unless both twins have sex with the same woman. That would make it tougher.


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Both twins would have the same DNA fingerprint. So I would assume that using the typical genetic marker paternity test would be useless in determining which twin is the father.


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Yes I mean if wo identical male twins had sex with one female at about the same time.

Any way to tell who’s the dad?

Good question.

I don’t know, but I’ll hazard the coincident question: Is there some way that the fatherhood might be determined based on an event in the medical history (post-birth) of one of the twins?

Barring that, split the paternity suit (Eww, what if she has fraternal twins?).

I would guess not, beatle, since both potential fathers would be equally predisposed to any medical condition.

Alpha,

Yeah, they’d have a similar predisposition toward certain medical conditions, but is there a scenario where exposure to different environmental situations, both those accentuating a predisposition as well as those just introducing a foreign element (viral, radioactive, subversive, comedic, what have you), might somehow stamp the bab(y/ies)?

There is only way that the twins’ environmental exposure could help determine who the father was- if it caused damage to the DNA in the sperm. Even then you’d be dealing in probabilities. For example, if twin A was exposed to massive radiation within a few days of (alleged) impregnation, and twin B was not exposed, then if the resultant baby had genetic damage (birth defects, etc.) it might be much more likely that twin A was the father. How much more likely depends on the probability of getting a damaged sperm from twin A versus twin B. Of course if it’s too damaged the sperm will either be dead or so screwed up that the woman will miscarry.

If the sperm is undamaged, however, the DNA inside is identical for each twin, so there’s no way to identify the father.

How about this- does it even matter? What if twin A is the husband, and twin B gets her pregnant, with everyone knowing the truth. Since the DNA is the same, the EXACT same baby could just as easily been produced by the husband- so should he care that the baby isn’t his? Or is it just as much his in some sense?

Or, what if you have twin sisters. The man is married to twin A, but twin A is infertile . They all agree that the husband will impregnate twin B, who has the same DNA as the wife. Since the wife could have produced the EXACT same baby (if she were fertile), should she accept the baby as hers, just as she would have if she carried it. Here the argument isn’t as strong. Since the local environment in the womb has a strong effect on fetal development, the wife and her twin could produce different babies (even though they have the same DNA). For example, if the twin drank heavily or used drugs during pregnancy, and if the wife wouldn’t have done that, then the wife could argue that she would have had a different baby (even though they have the same DNA).

Arjuna34

beatle: Is there some way that the fatherhood might be determined based on an event in the medical history (post-birth) of one of the twins?

Simple. If one twin caught an STD and passed it on to the woman at the same time he got her pregnant, then he’s the father.

I looked in the mirror today/My eyes just didn’t seem so bright
I’ve lost a few more hairs/I think I’m going bald - Rush

But how could you be sure that the woman caught the STD from the twin, and not some other man?

Arjuna34

Why do I get the feeling this kind of case is going to pop up on Court TV any day now?


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