Dr. Nancy Siegel

And I've spoken to some of my colleagues who are older now, but were younger at the time.

And they also agreed that there's absolutely no scientific literature to support that.

Now, many people think that Viola Bernard came up with this idea.

And then when Peter Neubauer learned of it, because they were friends, that he decided to do the study because the twins were being separated anyway.

But, you know, I'm not so sure that that's the correct chronology of this.

I sometimes think that because Peter Neubauer always wanted to do a prospective study, an ongoing study of infants separated twins in real time, that maybe Viola Bernard kind of gave him the rationale to do so.

And I can't prove that.

But I think it is a possibility that we should not let go of.

I think it is possible.

He was very powerful, but again, I'm speculating here.

It's just that I think that that possibility is certainly open.

Now, what's interesting to me too is that Viola Bernard never publicized this policy.

If you really believe that twins are better off separated, you give papers to the Academy of Pediatrics and you write about it in the newspaper and you give public lectures and she never did that.

And she had great nieces who were identical twin girls.

And she never said to the mother, you should move them apart.

Never said that.

And I'm sure that mothers who have twins, you know, if they really believe the twins are better off apart, it might be painful.

But parents make sacrifices for their kids all the time.

And maybe they would have.

But she never went public with this idea.