Reader comments
9-year old Greek girl carrying her embryonic twin

KILLERS | 11:29 a.m. May 15, 2008

I can't believe they killed the fetus! This is like Terry Schiavo all over again.

Huh? | 12:41 p.m. May 15, 2008

The girl is 9 years old. Way to young to have a baby. And, it didn't sound like they knew it was an embryo until after it was removed. In general, I don't believe in "abortion" But I think in particular situations, such as this, it's in the best intrest of the "mother". She is only nine years old after all.

Huh? Ever seen the office? | 1:45 p.m. May 15, 2008

The girl wasn't pregnant. SHE was a twin who absorbed the other fetus (her twin).

Dwight had the same interesting circumstance (and FYI, he wasn't pregnant either).

Comments continue below

Anonymous | 2:03 p.m. May 15, 2008

Did ya not read the entire article?

First, the 9 year had her twin inside her. She wasn't pregnant and wasn't "having a baby."

Lastly, the "fetus" had no brain or umbilical cord. Hence, this object was just a mass of tissue with recognizable elements.

Please read the entire article before posting silly comments.

Ronald A. Young | 1:20 a.m. May 16, 2008

Please, Please Read The Article People, before jumping to your forgone, judgmental, conclusions. You see the words 9 year old and Fetus and you want to jump right in. I saw that also but what it interested me in doing was reading the article well. Look before you shout or want to Shoot. This is something that happens in Nature. Like big fat women and when they operate they find a benign tumor as big as a whatever it is as big as. Football, Baseball, Basketball or Stuie (from Family Guy).

Karen D | 2:25 a.m. May 16, 2008

I suggest that those who don't understand what an "embryonic twin" is should google the term and find some pictures of one. They are not babies. The embryonic twin is absorbed by the surviving twin prior to birth and is not a viable human being - just a mass of distorted tissue. Most aren't even recognizable and more closely resemble a tumor with hairs growing out of it.

Let's not get on our high-horse in ignorance - it just makes us look ... ignorant.

The first two comments | 3:21 a.m. May 16, 2008

are just utterly bizarre

(1) This is not like Terry Schiavo. They didn't realize it was a fetus until after it was removed. Before then, they thought it was something else ... because who expects this to happen to a nine-year-old girl. In the Schiavo case, they knew a human being would die when they pulled the plug. In this case, they didn't realize a fetus would die when they cut off a growth from the little girl's stomach.

(2) The 9-year-old is not pregnant because she was involved in a procreative act. She was pregnant because she absorbed her twin.

Seriously, how bad are the reading comprehension skills in this state?

Dwight | 5:44 a.m. May 16, 2008

That was a funny part. Seriously, people relax. woah

Eastern Observer | 6:00 a.m. May 16, 2008

Please tell me that the average functional literacy level of the Deseret News readership is not actually as low as one would surmise from the first two comments!!!! I have to admit that the AP's use of the term "carrying" in this context, probably a set-up to attract attention to the article, does create an initial impression of pregnancy, but please! And what makes these comments even more hilarious (and pathetic) is that "Huh?" truly thought that he/she was setting the first person straight! Unbelieveable... .

relax | 7:50 a.m. May 16, 2008

Guys - the first two comments were probably just a joke. Un-press the panic button!

DCnTN | 8:08 a.m. May 16, 2008

The headline is misleading, perhaps puposely so to attract reader attention. She was "carrying" this one time fetus and while it was in her stomach it was almost certainly not in her uterus. She was not pregnant in any sense of the word.

This is most accurately described as a tumor comprised of fetal tissue.

Anonymous | 8:29 a.m. May 16, 2008

Seriously, I was once absorbed.

Hilarious | 9:30 a.m. May 16, 2008

What about the functional literacy level of those who are not smart enough to realize the first two comments were made in jest? Personally, I thought the first two comments were hilarious, but the comments following are even funnier!

Mark B | 10:25 a.m. May 16, 2008

If y'all can't figure out that the first comment was a joke, you need to go to humor reforms school.

And if any of you need clarification that the girl wasn't pregnant, or that the growth which was removed from her wasn't a fetus, you just need to go to school.

The assumption | 10:49 a.m. May 16, 2008

Is that the fetus would have been absorbed and died of natural processes before this girl was born and the remains of the fetus just happened to still be there. This has nothing to do with the abortion debate in the least; people on both sides of that issue would likely agree there is nothing to argue about here. It is possible that the writer of this article deliberately avoided reporting whether it was a viable, living fetus just to stir interest and critics into posting.

Dr Mark | 11:08 a.m. May 16, 2008

Did the little girl consent to the abortion or did her parents and doctors push it on her? It's just not right to be pregnant with your own sister.

Confused | 11:20 a.m. May 16, 2008

Why is the Des News publishing articles in favor of abortion?

Anonymous | 11:22 a.m. May 16, 2008

There is no way that the "fetus" could be viable. There is no umbilical cord, which is how a fetus is fed. It has been in her for 9 years. Just give it a little thought. Is it going to stay that small for nine years if it was viable? HELLO

Juan Figuroa | 12:13 p.m. May 16, 2008

Mwaa-ha-ha. First comment, mildly funny. Follow-up comments, hysterical.

bilbo | 1:06 p.m. May 16, 2008

The observations hre by some individuals claiming this is an abortion makes as much sense as them claiming a fetus is not a baby!
This was a TUMOR, with the remains of a 10 year old fetus, not fully developed; not fully formed, not ever going to attain either any more development or maturity.
Those who would caution these posters to READ the article are blowing into the wind.....these same posters have no desire for truth nor is knowledge in the minds of these people.
We must pray for their enlightenment.

froto | 1:40 p.m. May 16, 2008

Thanks for your prayers bilbo. I'm feeling better already.

bilbo | 2:33 p.m. May 16, 2008

I said: "We must pray for their enlightenment".
Froto (not Frodo) said: "I'm feeling better already".
Now, WHO says miracles no longer happen?!

Re: Hilarious | 4:00 p.m. May 16, 2008

Get over yourself. People do have the right to react differently than you. Even if it was done in jest, it was seriously bad taste, and most people (oh no! not like you!) don't find that kind of "humor" funny.

I'm a twin | 6:14 p.m. May 16, 2008

Dudes and Dude-ets, CHILL! I totally agree with Juan, Anonymous, Hilarious, and others. Most of you are making some weird assumptions. And that's okay because it's true that people have the right to react differently than you, just as Hilarious stated. But some of you people need to understand that without a brain and umbilical cord, this "absorbed twin" couldn't have lived anyways. Like many have stated, this twin was removed as a clump of tissue with recognizable parts, not as something that could be removed and survive independently. Anyways, what's done is done. The 9 year old girl made a full recovery. We should all be happy for that :)

MoJules | 9:56 p.m. May 16, 2008

I figured it out, there are people here that just love to say things to get a reaction, there are a couple here that really are so out there that it has to be playing the DUH part to the max. And those people who are really not as, can we say dumb, as they are sounding are probably cracking up over the comments, they probably all have ODD. I could see myself as a bored teen or person that likes to shake things up going into these and posting comments that will get lots of reaction. One thing I do think is off boundaries is those articles where someone is going through a death or tragedy, such as this missionary, that is totally out of line and I wish that the paper would not keep those in. So here is a great place to ruffle other peoples feathers, well, I guess it is, I am not the mother or grandmother to this child, if I were, I would probably think some of the comments are rude towards that child.

Bart | 4:55 a.m. May 17, 2008

Just because one has the right to say anything that pops into their heads, doesn't mean they should. It would be nice if they would exhibit a little self control and consider the feelings of others.

Ipswich | 5:03 a.m. May 17, 2008

The 1st two comments were not "a joke". The comments were "serious". The joke was the 1st two commentors.

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