Philippines – A 19-year-old named ‘Jose Maria Garcia’ born with both ovaries and testicles and who has both male and female genitals has given birth to twins, this morning at the Amisola Maternity Hospital.
Reportedly, both babies were also born hermaphrodites, displaying physical characteristics and genitals of both genders, a “miraculous event” according to Dr. Xi Huan Chow, Medical director at the Hospital.
“We are amazed to experience such an unusual birth” he told reporters. “Many people have come to visit and witness these miracles of nature. Both babies are extremely healthy” he explained with enthusiasm.
Jose Maria Garcia, the father and mother of the twins, admits the birth was not expected at all.
“I have never had any physical relation or experience with someone outside of myself. I was unaware that I could impregnate myself, but I would never go back even with what I know now. These children are beautiful and I am happy to share my life with them,” he told reporters.
Many experts and researchers believe such an occurrence not possible outside the animal kingdom, although many cases of human self-fertilization have been reported in medical literature, explains leading researcher Dr. Akira Hashimoto of the University of Tokyo.
“In asexual reproduction, an organism can reproduce without the involvement of another organism. Asexual reproduction is not limited to single-celled organisms. For example, a great number of snails and slugs are hermaphrodites” he acknowledges. “The evolution of sexual reproduction is still a major puzzle for biologists,” he admits.
The first account of self-fertilization in history is ascribed to Juanita Franciscella, a Spanish street artist also known as the “bearded woman of Castilla”, who in 1483 is said to have given birth to a child of her own conception. The birth was judged heretical by the Spanish Inquisition and she was burned with her child at the stake.
