They were twins, brother and sister, separated at birth. Several years later they became acquainted with each other as adults, neither knowing that they had a twin sibling at birth, yet nonetheless feeling "an inevitable attraction" toward one another. The story of the unfortunate couple first broke in England a couple of months ago when a former Liberal Democrat Member of Parliament, Lord Alton, lobbying for children to have the right to know the identities of their biological parents, unleashed the shocking details about the couple’s relationship to the English press.
Prior to the news being made public that the married couple was brother and sister, they realized that something about their feelings for each other were not quite right. When the couple began investigating their backgrounds, each knowing that they had been adopted at birth, they eventually learned the shocking truth and immediately took steps to have their marriage ruled invalid by a high court—the proceedings of which were held in secrecy. The court, of course, agreed that, under the law, their blood relationship was prohibited.
"It was appalling for this couple to discover they were married to a close relative," said a person knowledgeable about the case. "And I believe the government will leave itself open to class actions in the future if it collaborates in keeping information of this kind from children…."
Currently, the push is on within the English government to require that a child’s genetic history be recorded on its birth certificate. At present the government can deny a person the right to this knowledge until they reach the age of 18—by which time they could be married, as in the case at hand.
