Academia Gone Wild: Identical Twins Separated for 35 Years by "Research" Group

hotballa · Dec 10, 2007

Not sure what they planned to study. Why not also kill someone and research how that effects the people around them. Honestly, I thought that scientists were supposed to have some sort of ethics. My advanced biology teacher spent the first week on ethics, so I know it's something that every scientist learns. I think the peopel involved with this study should be hauled in before a Senate hearing and properly grilled.

Disgusting.

http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0712/08/cnr.05.html

WHIFIELD: Paula Bernstein and Elise Schein believed that they may have been the ultimate guinea pigs. The identical twins were separated at birth for a psychological study as were five other sets of twins and triplets. Well, for 35 years they didn't know the other existed. They were reunited in a remarkable turn of events and they have written a book about their experiences called "Identical Strangers." They were joining me now from New York. Paula and Elise, good to see you.

PAULA BERNSTEIN: You too, thank you.

WHITFIELD: Wow, how remarkable. You know, tell me about how since your reunion about three years ago, do you all feel like you are virtually inseparable now, given that you have tried to make up for all of that lost time? 35 years apart.

BERNSTEIN: Well, it's amazing. Obviously, there's no way we can make up for 35 years but we are doing the best we can to try. And when we met, we knew we were twins. That was apparent but we weren't sure what our relationship was to each other. We had to discover that and it has not always been easy.

WHITFIELD: Yes. And you knew you were twins because after, Elise, you were living in Paris and somehow you decided, you know what, I really want to find out more about my biological parent, and then somehow by default, you were to find out, oh, by the way, you're a twin.

ELISE SCHEIN, TWINS SEPARATED AT BIRTH, REUNITED: That's right. Then I got a letter from the adoption agency saying that I was a twin. So I was completely shocked. We had both grown up knowing we were adopted but the idea that I had a doppelganger double somewhere out in the world, you know, really I was driven to find her and I came to New York and contacted the adoption agency to help me find her. And then once they agreed to help me, they said, I asked, why were we separated? They said because of a twin study.

WHITFIELD: And when you heard that, were you appalled? What was your initial reaction, what is this about twin study to separate these identical twins?

SHINE: I couldn't believe it. Once we got together and, you know, we had so much to catch up on but immediately we teamed up and started investigating the study for which we were separated. And we were really floored. We always thought our lives had been orchestrated by these puppet masters who obviously put their research needs before the needs of us and the other twins and triplets.

WHITFIELD: Right. And so, Paula, I'm going to have you kind of rewind for a moment. Because while Elise is making this discovery or being told by this agency, by the way, you have a twin and that twin is in New York, you get a phone call and someone says, oh by the way, you got a twin looking for you. BERNSTEIN: Basically, that's pretty much what they said. By the way, you got a twin looking for you and in fact I was a journalist and as a journalist I had written an article entitled "why I don't want to find my birth mother?" So I was quite adamant, I didn't like to seek out biological relatives but of course I had no idea I had a twin and if I had known that I certainly would have sought her out. But, of course, I was shocked and then not only did I find out that I had a twin but I also, as Elise was saying, had to find out we were separated for this study.

WHITFIELD: Then you welcomed the whole reunification of the two of you. When you looked at one another for the first time, tell me about that experience of looking in the mirror.

SCHEIN: It was incredible. It was like seeing an alternate vision of ourselves. And we realized, we began to conduct our own informal study of what it is that makes us who we are, nature versus nurture. Right away it was immediate that we shared this very similar mannerisms. It was eerie, right, Paula.

BERNSTEIN: And then when we compared our life experiences, it was amazing, we both were editor-in-chiefs of our high school newspapers. We both went on to study film theory and make short films. We have almost the same exact favorite film and book.

WHITFIELD: Tremendous.

BERNSTEIN: We have the same quirky mannerisms and we both mock type as we speak.

WHITFIELD: Wow. And so here you guys seemingly are just kind of rolling with it. You have accepted that this is the way it is. You're not for a scintilla of a moment angry? You don't want to reach out to these folks who are part of this study, who by the way are not going to release the study results until what, 2066 --

BERNSTEIN: 2066.

WHITFIELD: About the phenomenon, whether it is nature or nurture that makes a person. You don't feel like you want to legally go after these guys and gals.

SCHEIN: Luckily, we did -- we were able to meet with the key researcher of the study, who is quite elderly now and he said he did not have any part of it. It was really the adoption agency's choice. But he did admit to actively trying to recruit twins from other agencies. Even back in the day, this was not -- separating twins was not common practice.

BERNSTEIN: And he expresses no remorse at all. Of course, we are angry. We are angry about it. And it was -- basically they had a theory, the top psychiatric intelligence at the agency had a theory that twins would be better off if they were separated. But of course, that was completely unsubstantiated and no research to back that up. And if that's the case, then why did they not try to spread the word? Was it just twins given up for adoption that should be separated?

WHITFIELD: Incredible. And how lucky you are to find each other. Elyse Schein, Paula Bernstein, it's an incredible story and can be read and learned in a much more thorough way through "Identical Strangers." Right here is the cover of the book. Ladies, thank you very much for joining us and thanks for sharing your story. And I'm so happy for you both to have found one another.
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SamFisher · Dec 10, 2007

Please, the fact that you could break the set up and not have to buy two probably helped them get adopted faster. They should stop whining.

hotballa · Dec 10, 2007

SamFisher said:

Please, the fact that you could break the set up and not have to buy two probably helped them get adopted faster. They should stop whining.
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I'll ignore the Meowgiesque comment from you

MR. MEOWGI · Dec 10, 2007

Been done.

hotballa · Dec 10, 2007

MR. MEOWGI said:

Been done.

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this was actually the first thing that came to mind also.

underoverup · Dec 10, 2007

SamFisher said:

Please, the fact that you could break the set up and not have to buy two probably helped them get adopted faster. They should stop whining.
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buy one get one free?

Mulder · Dec 10, 2007

The more important question is...

how hot are they?

StupidMoniker · Dec 10, 2007

Why would breaking up twins for adoption be any worse than breaking up other siblings? This actually sounds like a great study to compare nature vs. nurture, since identical twins have the same DNA and were in as close to the same environment prior to separation as possible, you could see how much these separated twins differed from twins that grew up together.

KingCheetah · Dec 10, 2007

How bizarre would it be to suddenly discover you had a twin...

halfbreed · Dec 10, 2007

StupidMoniker said:

Why would breaking up twins for adoption be any worse than breaking up other siblings? This actually sounds like a great study to compare nature vs. nurture, since identical twins have the same DNA and were in as close to the same environment prior to separation as possible, you could see how much these separated twins differed from twins that grew up together.
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Yeah it'd be super to live for 35 years with no ties to your biological family and being lied to in the name of science. After 35 years, surprise! Not only do you have family members but you have a twin!

Science FTW!

B-Bob · Dec 10, 2007

Pretty much the actions of one person should then reflect on an entire profession.

That's why I hate all professional athletes, lawyers, contractors, governors, mayors, presidents, diplomats, soldiers, engineers, chefs, bull riders (long story), doctors, traders, professors, students, accountants, and IT professionals. So little time in the day!

wizkid83 · Dec 10, 2007

halfbreed said:

Yeah it'd be super to live for 35 years with no ties to your biological family and being lied to in the name of science. After 35 years, surprise! Not only do you have family members but you have a twin!

Science FTW!
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Peole that are adopted don't have biological ties...atleast they shouldn't worry too much about it.

halfbreed · Dec 10, 2007

B-Bob said:

Pretty much the actions of one person should then reflect on an entire profession.
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That's not what I'm saying. I'm not saying that all science is reflected in the actions of this immediate case.

I'm simply saying that it's sad that science trumps the interests of the twins in this case.

hotballa · Dec 10, 2007

halfbreed said:

That's not what I'm saying. I'm not saying that all science is reflected in the actions of this immediate case.

I'm simply saying that it's sad that science trumps the interests of the twins in this case.
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exactly.

btw for those who think this isn't a big deal, I highlighted the feelings of the twins for a reason. it's easy to say it's a good idea, but wat do you say to the people involved?

StupidMoniker · Dec 11, 2007

halfbreed said:

Yeah it'd be super to live for 35 years with no ties to your biological family and being lied to in the name of science. After 35 years, surprise! Not only do you have family members but you have a twin!

Science FTW!
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It isn't like they were stolen from their parents. They were put up for adoption and they were separated at that time. I'm sure there are tons of siblings that get adopted by different families. Heck, I'm sure there are siblings that are aware of each other that get split up, now that really would suck. Being a twin without knowing you are a twin doesn't seem like a big deal to me, and I have some experience with twins (my mom is a twin).

calurker · Dec 11, 2007

On the bright side, there is no chance of one person sleeping with another only to find out that they are each other's long-lost sibling (too much Korean soap opera).

thadeus · Dec 11, 2007

KingCheetah said:

How bizarre would it be to suddenly discover you had a twin...
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If I had a twin, I'd totally make out with him. It wouldn't be gay at all, it'd be like masturbation. And besides, I'm damn sexy.

hotballa · Dec 11, 2007

StupidMoniker said:

It isn't like they were stolen from their parents. They were put up for adoption and they were separated at that time. I'm sure there are tons of siblings that get adopted by different families. Heck, I'm sure there are siblings that are aware of each other that get split up, now that really would suck. Being a twin without knowing you are a twin doesn't seem like a big deal to me, and I have some experience with twins (my mom is a twin).
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Like I said, it's easy to say that when you're no the one who got split up from their twin. Maybe it was a worthwhile experiment (I don't think so, but you're entitled to that opinion), but the twins themselves obviously did not feel that way. Science Ethics 101 was a class missed by the researchers.

rocketsjudoka · Dec 11, 2007

I'm still curious who funded the study and who is the author? The article only says the key researcher is quite elderly.

hotballa · Dec 11, 2007

rocketsjudoka said:

I'm still curious who funded the study and who is the author? The article only says the key researcher is quite elderly.
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I think according to the article it won't be released till 2066. Kind of unusual...

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Academia Gone Wild: Identical Twins Separated for 35 Years by "Research" Group

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Academia Gone Wild: Identical Twins Separated for 35 Years by "Research" Group

hotballa Contributing Member

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hotballa Contributing Member

underoverup Member

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StupidMoniker I lost a bet

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B-Bob "94-year-old self-described dreamer"

wizkid83 Member

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StupidMoniker I lost a bet

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