Who is the mother when conjoined twins give birth: As sisters Abby and Brittany Hensel are spotted with a newborn baby, legal experts break down complex situation

Legal experts have revealed who would be the official mother of any baby welcomed by conjoined sisters Abby and Brittany Hensel – after the famous twins were spotted with a newborn.

Last month, the siblings, 35, from Minnesota, were photographed carrying a little one in a car seat and placing the baby into the back of a black Tesla, sparking speculation that they have fulfilled their public vow: ‘We are going to be moms one day.’

The sisters, born with a rare condition called dicephalic parapagus, first captivated the world with their remarkable story after appearing on The Oprah Winfrey Show and the cover of Life Magazine in 1996, before recording their own reality TV show.

They have since retreated from the spotlight, preferring their careers as teachers, but last year it was revealed that Abby had married U.S. Army veteran Joshua Bowling in 2021, while her sister Brittany remains single.

The siblings are one of only a handful of sets of dicephalus twins in history, meaning they have two heads and two hearts but share a single body from the waist down – including their genitals.

Neither Abby, Brittany nor Joshua have publicly confirmed the identity of the baby in the photos, but it hasn’t stopped speculation from mounting over who would legally be recognised as a child’s birth mother, if the Hensel sisters have indeed welcomed a newborn to their family.

Everett Lupton, an accomplished civil and criminal attorney, as well as the founding partner of Slaughter & Lupton, with offices in Virginia and North Carolina, told The Daily Mail how the twins could ‘divide official motherhood if desired’.

He explained: ‘Abby and Brittany have driver’s licenses and prepare their own tax returns, but Minnesota’s computer program for recording births considers a pregnancy to be a one-person event. 

‘That inconsistency requires clerks to posit a single “birth mother” in contrast to the recognition of two conscious adults who share the responsibility.’

However, he revealed how there is a ‘less-traveled road’ that the siblings could opt for if they both wished to be considered the legal mothers of any child they decide to welcome into their family.

The attorney said: ‘The 2017 Revised Uniform Parentage Act precisely leaves it to a judge to designate more than two legal parents in the event that limiting the child to two would be “detrimental.” 

‘Section 612 even goes as far as to list requirements for when numerosity would be in a child’s best interest. 

‘Minnesota has not enacted that provision yet, but some western states have and they issue birth certificates with three parents where there is sophisticated fertility. 

‘If twins were in such a status when they gave birth, or petitioned in a Minnesota court for a parentage order, both could be included without having to modify the form’s software.’

He continued: ‘The common law remains to favor one birth mother, but modern parentage codes and creative court orders offer the Hensel twins legal ways to divide official motherhood if desired.’

Meanwhile, William K. Holland, a law expert, and the Managing Partner of Holland Injury Law, LLC, explained how the ‘US vital-statistics forms in use today acknowledge the birth mother as the immediate legal parent.’  

He added: ‘All 50 states require the person who bore and delivered the child to be named on the first line of all birth certificates.

‘Since a single-uterus pregnancy like the one the Hensel twins would experience can have only one certificate filed, officials must complete either “Abigail Hensel” or “Brittany Hensel” as Mother.

‘However, Minnesota allows parents to request an amended certificate within one year of registration, so the twins could switch which sister is registered first if they wished, an accommodation little discussed outside legal circles.’

Following their first experience in the limelight in 1996, fascination around the twins has largely continued today, with one aspect of their lives particularly piquing the interest of their fans and followers – the inner workings of their extraordinary love life.

Last year, the pair were back in the spotlight after it emerged that Abby secretly married nurse and Army veteran Josh Bowling in 2021, according to public records obtained by Today, which made her stepmother to Josh’s daughter, Isabella. 

While some assumed that if Abby was legally married to Joshua, Brittany would be too, their marriage certificate, as obtained by TMZ, tells a different story, with the document declaring the marriage of just Abby and Joshua.

Then, in June, Joshua appeared to confirm speculation that he might have a new child on the way after he shared an image of a baby mat in a box on X, suggesting he might have been preparing for the little one’s arrival.

Abby and her sister Brittany, one of only a few sets of dicephalus twins in history to survive infancy, rose to fame on their eponymous TLC show that chronicled their major life events, including high school graduation and job hunting.

But when the Hensel twins were born on March 7, 1990, doctors warned their parents, Patty, a registered nurse, and Mike, a carpenter and landscaper, that they were unlikely to survive the night.

It was a claim proved wildly wrong. From starring in their reality TV show to forming relationships, Abby and Brittany have achieved an incredible amount in the past 35 years.

The Hensel twins are the rarest form of conjoined twins, the result of a single fertilised egg failing to fully separate in the womb.

They have two spines (which join at the pelvis), two hearts, two oesophagi, two stomachs, three kidneys, two gall bladders, four lungs (two of which are joined), one liver, one ribcage, a shared circulatory system, and partially shared nervous systems.

From the waist down, all organs, including the intestine, bladder, and reproductive organs, are shared.

Although Brittany – the left twin – can’t feel anything on the right side of the body and Abigail – the right twin – can’t feel anything on her left, instinctively their limbs move as if coordinated by one person, even when typing e-mails on the computer.

Just one set of twins in every 40,000 is born connected in some way to each other and only one per cent of those survive beyond the first year.

The twins, who have their own birth certificates and passports, were raised Christian by their parents, a nurse and a carpenter and are now fifth grade math teachers at an elementary school in New Brighton, Minnesota, where they were born and raised.

Before the pair became seriously romantically involved with anyone, their mother revealed that they were keen to have children of their own one day.

Patty explained in a documentary: ‘[It] is probably something that could work because those organs do work for them.’ 

‘Yeah, we’re going to be moms,’ Brittany agreed.

In another interview, Brittany reiterated their desire to have families of their own, saying: ‘The whole world doesn’t need to know who we are seeing, what we are doing and when we are going to do it. 

‘But believe me, we are totally different people.’

In a 2001 interview with Time, the twins’ father Mike said his daughters had already then asked about finding husbands one day.

Knowing that other conjoined twins have married, he explained, why not? ‘They’re good-looking girls. They’re witty. They’ve got everything going for them, except they’re together,’ he added.

He was right, and Abby’s relationship with Josh, who is a father-of-one, became public in March last year, when they announced their wedding.

On TikTok account @abbyandbrittanyhensel, a clip revealed insight into Abby’s wedding day – and a Facebook account titled Britt And Abby also featured a picture of the happy couple.

For the ceremony, the twins sported a sleeveless wedding dress with lace trim detailing while the groom wore a grey suit.

A video thought to have been captured by one of their guests and shared on social media showed the twins and the groom enjoying a dance during the big day.

Another showed Josh’s daughter sporting a floral bridesmaid’s dress and walking down the aisle, holding a sign that read: ‘Daddy… Here Comes Your Bride’. 

It’s likely the father-of-one, who works with hospice patients, and the twins live with one another, with Josh’s Facebook page showing the family – including his young daughter – enjoying hikes in nature, ice cream and dressing up for Halloween. 

Josh served as an Army medic with the 1st Cavalry in Iraq and Afghanistan, according to The Minnesota Star Tribune.

He told the publication in 2021: ‘I dealt with a lot of death and dying – the bad version of it’. 

The father-of-one added that becoming a nurse ‘felt like a calling’ because he wanted to give people a peaceful death, as opposed to those he witnessed at war.

While Abby and Joshua made their relationship public, Brittany has kept her romantic life out of the spotlight. 

Last month, photographers captured Abby and Brittany carrying a newborn baby in a car seat and placing the infant into the back of a black Tesla at a parking lot in Arden Hills, Minnesota.

However, it is not clear who would be the legal mother and if there would be complications with carrying a baby. It is also a possibility that the pair may have used a surrogate or adopted, if the baby is theirs.