The January 2018 headline story in the Los Angeles Times was riveting. Andrew from the United States and Elad Dvash-Banks from Israel married in Canada in 2010 when gay couples could not marry in these countries. The couple conceived fraternal twins, Aiden and Ethan, with a Canadian surrogate by means of egg and sperm donation. The two boys were born just four minutes apart. Aiden was conceived with a donated egg and Andrews sperm cell, and Ethan was conceived with a donated egg (from the same woman) and Elads sperm cell. Andrew and Elad wished to raise their children in the United States, but when they arrived at the American Consulate in Toronto to apply for citizenship, a staff member fired off a series of "shocking" and humiliating questions, and informed the couple of her authority to require a DNA test to determine each parents relatedness to each twin--she warned that without these tests neither twin would be granted US citizenship. Andrew and Elad knew which twin each had fathered and had planned on keeping this information confidential. They knew this because DNA analyses had already been performed, but the consulate insisted that these costly tests be repeated using their designated laboratory. Having no alternative, DNA testing was arranged, and results submitted to the consulate. Soon, two envelopes arrived at their home, bearing both welcome and dreaded news: United States citizenship was offered to Aiden, whose father was a US citizen, but not to Ethan, whose father was Israeli. And, thus, their ground-breaking legal journey began. The couples high-profile lawsuit nearly reached the US Supreme Court, capturing worldwide attention along the way. Nancy Segal brings the story to life through firsthand accounts of each fathers life history and analysis of the legal intricacies that threatened to deny US citizenship to one of their twin sons.

Nancy L. Segal, PhD, is Professor of Psychology at California State University, Fullerton and Director of the Twin Studies Center. She has authored over 250 scientific articles and six books on twins and twin development. Segals 2012 book, Born Together-Reared Apart: The Landmark Minnesota Twin Study, won the 2013 William James Book Award from the American Psychological Association. Her other books include Deliberately Divided (Rowman & Littlefield, 2021), Twin Mythconceptions: False Beliefs, Fables and Facts About Twins (2017), Someone Elses Twin: The True Story of Babies Switched at Birth (2011), Indivisible by Two: Lives of Extraordinary Twins (2007) and Entwined Lives: Twins and What They Tell Us About Human Behavior (2000). Her most recent book, Accidental Brothers (2018), follows the incredible life histories of two sets of identical male twins in Colombia who were inadvertently switched at birth. She has appeared on the Today Show,CBS This Morning, Good Morning America and the Oprah Winfrey Show, and been featured in the New York Times, Wall StreetJournal and Atlantic Monthly.Segal has also served as a consultant and expert witness for the media, the law and the arts. Born in Boston and raised in New York City, she lives in southern California.

This story highlights the heroics of two men who sacrificed their privacy to make a difference for their children and others to follow. Segal cogently focuses on the terrifying reality that not all families are treated equally under our law. This tale follows the lives of two men and their twin sons as they seek a fair and legal path to U.S. citizenship. As the book progresses, Segals treatment of the personal and legal paths that the men traversed makes us consider issues that get to the very bedrock of basic freedoms - who we can love and who we are allowed to nurture.--Lisabeth Fisher DiLalla, PhD, Professor of Behavioral Sciences, Southern Illinois University School of Medicine, Director of the Southern Illinois Twins/Triplets and Siblings Study (SITSS)

This book is both a heart-warming and heart-breaking tale. Its a story of ordinary people overcoming extraordinary obstacles. You cannot read it without rethinking the fundamental issues underlying family life. Using her great breath of scholarly knowledge (Psychology, Evolution, Child Development, Genetics, etc.) Nancy Segal weaves scientific ideas and personal experiences into a flawless tapestry that affords the reader a profound educational experience.--Thomas J. Bouchard, Jr., PhD, Professor Emeritus, Department of Psychology, University of Minnesota
You would think having twins would be a glorious gift for parents, which it is if youre heterosexual. If youre a gay couple its another story entirely, one told by the preeminent twins researcher and masterful storyteller Nancy Segal. Gay Fathers, Twin Sons is at once gripping, infuriating, heartbreaking, and uplifting. For all the moral progress weve made over the centuries its hard to believe same-sex couples still struggle to be treated equally under the law. A brilliant read.--Michael Shermer, Publisher of Skeptic magazine, author of The Moral Arc and Conspiracy: Why the Rational Believe the Irrational