The combination of a riveting true story and cutting-edge twin research makes this book an irresistible page-turner. Identical twins Begoña and Delia were born thirty-eight years ago in Spain's Canary Islands. Due to chaotic conditions at the hospital or simple human error, the unthinkable happened: Delia was unintentionally switched with another infant in the baby nursery. This fascinating story describes in vivid detail the consequences of this unintentional separation of identical twin sisters. The author considers not only the effects on these particular sisters, but the important implications of this and similar cases for questions concerning identity, familial bonds, nature-nurture, and the law. Nancy L. Segal, PhD, is a professor in the department of psychology at California State University, Fullerton, and the director of the Twin Studies Center, which she founded in 1991. She is the author of Indivisible by Two: Lives of Extraordinary Twins; Entwined Lives: Twins and What They Tell Us about Human Behavior; and Born Together–Reared Apart: The Landmark Minnesota Twin Study . She is also the senior editor of Uniting Psychology and Biology: Integrative Perspectives on Human Development. SOMEONE ELSE'S TWIN The True Story of Babies Switched at Birth By Nancy L. Segal Prometheus Books Copyright © 2011 Nancy L. Segal All right reserved. ISBN: 978-1-61614-437-1 Contents FOREWORD by Dr. Thomas J. Bouchard Jr........................91. Introduction: Discovery in Las Palmas.....................132. Switched at Birth.........................................393. Crossing Paths............................................814. Traumatic Truths—I..................................1115. Traumatic Truths—II.................................1356. Someone Else's Baby.......................................1697. Determining the Damages...................................2078. Three Lives...............................................237AFTERWORD: This Day Forward..................................259ACKNOWLEDGMENTS..............................................263NOTES........................................................269INDEX........................................................295 Chapter One INTRODUCTION Discovery in Las Palmas Every once in a while a researcher discovers a problem, event, or situation that is irresistible, something so compelling that she drops everything to study it. This happened to me in June 2008 when I learned about Delia and Begoña, a pair of switched-at-birth identical twins from Spain's Canary Islands (Islas Canarias), located off the Moroccan coast. In 1973, newborn twin Delia, born on January 18, was accidentally switched with unrelated infant Beatriz, born on January 15, in the crowded nursery of the Nuestra Señora del Pino Hospital. It is likely that the three infants were placed in the same incubator, making an exchange of babies likely by either of the two nurses in charge of sixty newborns. In that instant, Begoña and Beatriz became a fraternal "twin" pair, and Delia became a first-born "singleton" child raised by a family with whom she had no biological connection. No one discovered the mistake until 2001 when the twins and Beatriz turned twenty-eight, at which time two chance encounters, two incidents of mistaken identity, and more than a little curiosity finally revealed the truth. Lawsuits filed against the Canary Islands Health Service by the twins and their families continued for years. The case drew little attention until 2008, when it was allegedly leaked to reporters in the capital city of Las Palmas on the island of Gran Canaria. News spread quickly through the seven islands comprising the Islas Canarias, across Spain, and throughout the world. Psychologist Payam Heidary from California sent me a link to the online story. Minutes after reading it I was riveted and knew I would go to Las Palmas to meet the twins, their families, and their attorneys. I wanted a closer look at the circumstances and consequences of this incredible case—my only fear was that another investigator would get there first. I learned that Delia and Begoña were only the sixth pair of switched-at-birth twins ever identified; I learned of a seventh pair shortly after I discovered them. I was fortunate that the families' attorneys, Sebastian Socorro Perdomo (for Delia) and José Antonio Rodríguez Peregrina (for Begoña and Beatriz) gave me full access to their clients while they turned away most reporters, journalists, and other individuals seeking information about the twins. The lawyers reasoned that my professional background in twin research might help their case. I sent Socorro several articles about twins reared apart and a 2005 book chapter I had written about switched-at-birth twins before I arrived. The Spanish press and other newspapers in mostly Latin countries began covering the twins' story in 2008. In June of that year Socorro's office arranged fo