A married couple trying to conceive via IVF learned a horrific truth after a routine DNA testing at a fertility clinic. They were told they were actually fraternal twins and further prodding revealed they were separated in foster care.
The unnamed couple from Jackson, Mississippi went to a fertility clinic to address their problems of trying to get pregnant. The facility looked into their genetic backgrounds as SOP and their DNA result dumbfounded the lab technicians.
The fertility doctor initially thought the couple could be first cousins. "Looking closer at the samples, I noticed there were way too many similarities," he said, as per Mississippi Herald. "With this in mind, I was convinced that both patients were fraternal twins."
The couple first laughed when the doctor told them they're fraternal twins. They said people told them plenty of times of how similar they were. After the reality sunk in, however, the truth was no longer a laughing matter.
Mississippi law prohibits marriage between siblings, whether biological or adopted. It's under the 2013 Mississippi Code 97-29-27 as a crime against public morals. Violators can be sent to prison for 10 years with a $500 fine.
The couple's case, however, was distinct as it appeared they had no knowledge they had a twin. The husband and wife met in college and bonded over their similar experiences. Their parents died in a car crash when they were infants and they were taken into foster care.
Unfortunately, a filing error omitted the fact they were twins and their adoptive families were presumed unaware of this as well. The foster care system received some 427,910 children as of 2015, as per the Child Welfare. Over the years, this system constantly underwent through problems as facilities were undermanned and the stack of papers remained unfiled or improperly recorded.
The fertility doctor said the couple is mulling over their relationship's future. "I really hope they can work something out," he said. "This is the first time in my career that I've been glad I haven't succeeded [helping couples conceive a child]."
