In 1978 Louise Brown was born: the first child to have resulted from in vitro fertilization (IVF) and embryo transfer (ET). (All technical terms used in this book, whether scientific, legal or philosophical, are defined in the glossary.) Since then IVF clinics have been established in many countries around the world and about 38 000 babies have been born as a result of the new reproductive technology. During the 1980s the range of patients suitable for IVF expanded; instead of being a procedure designed to bypass infertility in women with blocked Fallopian tubes, IVF became a method with broad application in the treatment of both male and female infertility, and a potential research agenda extending into many other fields as well.

These developments in IVF and related research aroused a storm of public controversy. Around the world, governments have established committees of inquiry into the social, legal and ethical impacts of IVF technology. There is very little consensus on what should be permitted and what should be prohibited, or even on the question of whether there should be legislation in this area at all. Very few legislatures have as yet translated into law the recommendations put forward by their various committees, although in several countries there has been legislation enacted dealing with some aspects of IVF. (For a summary, see Appendix 1 of this volume.) This book attempts to take the debate about IVF and embryo experimentation beyond the level of polemic.