Legal Expert Weighs in on Conjoined Twins and Motherhood Questions After Baby Rumors

A legal specialist has spoken out regarding who would legally be recognized as the mother after well-known conjoined twins were recently seen with a newborn.

Brittany and Abby Hensel from Minnesota rose to international fame years ago, even starring in their own reality series, after their extraordinary case captured public attention.

Now 35 years old, the sisters are dicephalic parapagus twins — two heads attached to one body, each controlling an arm and a leg. Despite sharing a torso, they each have their own heart, spine, lungs, and stomach.

In 2021, Abby married Josh Bowling, though news of their union only came to light last year. Fresh speculation about the family surfaced after TMZ published photos on August 14 showing the twins together with a baby.

On August 30, the trio broke their silence by sharing a TikTok featuring the baby alongside pictures of the sisters. The post carried the caption “Blessed,” with hashtags such as sisterhood and respect. However, the twins and Josh have not confirmed whether the child is theirs, leaving widespread debate about who would be legally recognized as the mother.

Tamara Adams, an associate at Stowe Family Law, offered her perspective to UNILAD: “In the UK, and in most states in the US, the law recognizes only two legal parents at any given time. The child’s legal mother is always the birth mother — the individual who physically gives birth. The legal father would be the biological father, the one whose sperm created the child.”

This situation becomes complicated for conjoined twins since technically only one of them could be considered the birth mother, despite both sharing a uterus.

Adams explained further: “The complexities arise here because there is no clear sole birth mother. It may be that Abby, the twin who is legally married, would be recorded as the mother alongside her husband as the father. As she is married, the law could automatically recognize them as the legal parents — but this isn’t certain.”

If the baby was not born to the twins themselves, Adams noted, then the mother would legally be whoever delivered the child. She added: “If either twin — or Abby’s husband — had a genetic connection to the baby, but another woman gave birth, a parental order would be necessary to transfer parenthood from the birth mother.”

The lawyer described it as a “highly unusual case,” emphasizing: “Abby and Brittany have defied medical expectations by living healthy, full lives far beyond what doctors once believed possible. If the baby is biologically theirs, this could spark an unprecedented legal situation, possibly the first case of a child born to conjoined twins sharing reproductive organs.”

The sisters, who have surpassed all medical odds, continue to live active, independent lives. Each is capable of eating and writing on her own, they play the piano together, and both work as teachers.

They also hold separate driver’s licenses, having been required under Minnesota law to each pass their driving tests individually.