A court has ruled that it cannot determine the father of a child after a woman had sex with identical twin brothers just days apart, The Guardian reports.
The case, heard by a panel of senior judges in London, centers on a child identified only as P. The mother and one of the twins challenged an earlier decision after the other brother had been listed as the father on the birth certificate. However, the court concluded that the current evidence cannot establish paternity with certainty.
“Currently the truth of P’s paternity is that their father is one or other of these two identical twins, but it is not possible to say which,” said Sir Andrew McFarlane, who presided alongside Lady Justice King and Lord Justice Stuart-Smith.
The judges heard that both men had sexual relations with the woman within a short window, just four days apart, around the time the child was conceived. A previous ruling found it equally likely that either twin could be the father.
Despite DNA testing, the court said the results could not distinguish between the two men because of their identical genetic makeup.
McFarlane acknowledged that advances in science could eventually provide a definitive answer, but said that for now, such testing would be too complex and costly.
“It is possible, indeed likely, that by the time P reaches maturity it may be possible for science to identify one father and exclude the other twin,” he said, adding that for the foreseeable future, the child’s paternity remains “binary and not a single man.”
The court also addressed the legal status of the twin currently listed as the father. Judges determined that he should not have been registered as such and ruled that his parental responsibility will be removed, at least temporarily, while the case continues.
At the same time, the court stopped short of declaring that he is not the father.
“The failure to prove a fact means that that fact is not proved; it does not mean that the contrary is proved,” McFarlane explained. “There is a distinction between something being not proven, and making a positive declaration that the fact asserted is not true.”
With uncertainty surrounding paternity, the court emphasized that resolving parental responsibility will require further legal consideration. Judges indicated that future proceedings could determine whether one, both, or neither twin should assume that role.
The identities of those involved have been withheld due to legal protections, and the case remains ongoing.
