ABSTRACT
Ethical conflicts in pregnancy are traditionally analysed in terms of the individual rights of mother and fetus. I argue that standard approaches based on freedom from unwanted interference face serious difficulties when the human beings involved are not physically individuated from each other. The example of conjoined twins illustrates why, in these exceptional situations, the very basis of this approach is false. Facing risks to her body and life and envisioning a lifelong responsibility for another human being, the mother, as the fully individuated subject, has the duty, and the right, to responsible care. This entails finding an appropriate balance between the interests of her child and her self-interests.
