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--> --> Conjoined twins in critical condition PORTLAND (AP) - Conjoined twin girls born three weeks early were in critical condition at Legacy Emanuel Hospital & Health Center on Tuesday. Jessica Faith and Emily Hope weigh a combined 12 pounds, 15 ounces. They were delivered by Caesarean section Monday morning, the hospital said. The mother was in good condition. She and her husband, who are from Longview, Wash., requested that no other information be released. The Daily News in Longview, Wash., reported that the girls are joined at the torso and share a heart. Dr. Louis Keith, president of the Center for Study of Multiple Birth at Northwestern University in Chicago, said that would make successful separation impossible. "You can split a liver," Keith said. "You can live with one kidney. But you can't share a heart." Ann Hight, of Kelso, Wash., a friend and fellow church member, said the couple is relying on their Christian faith to help them cope with their infant daughters' tenuous health. "Their request to us was, 'We're praying for a miracle and we want you to pray for a miracle, too,' " Hight said. "I personally have, in my prayers, written the script for God of how he could separate these babies. Obviously, God didn't write it that way." The girls are the second pair of conjoined twins born at Legacy Emanuel in the past eight months. Alaina and Xela Bryce were born joined at the stomach on Oct. 18, to a couple from Vancouver, Wash. They shared a liver, and were successfully separated during a rare three-hour operation. Alaina went home in early December, but her sister Xela needed more surgery and wasn't able to go home until last week. Only about 40 conjoined twins are born in the United States each year. Identical twins are formed when a single fertilized egg separates into two embryos early during pregnancy. Conjoined twins develop when the egg fails to fully separate. Email your... Technical questions & comments to: WebMaster Daily Tidings editorial comments & questions to: Editor Visit our other Oregon Newspapers... | Albany Democrat-Herald | Ashland Daily Tidings | Corvallis Gazette-Times | | Lebanon Express | Newport News-Times | Springfield News | Cottage Grove Sentinel | Ashland Daily Tidings 1661 Siskiyou Blvd. Ashland, OR 97520 Telephone 541-482-3456 © Copyright 2001 Lee Northwest Publishing