Invitro is defined as, “In glass, as in a test tube”(Taber’s cyclopedic dictionary,1993), hence with reference to invitro fertilization, the term “Test tube baby”. The first ‘test tube baby’ was Louise Brown of England (Jonsen, A. R., 1996). Dr. Patrick Steptoe and Professor Robert Edwards combined an ovum from Mrs. Brown, and sperm from Mr. Brown cultured it in a petri dish, and reimplanted the now embryo into Mrs. Brown’s uterus (Jonsen, A. R.,1996). The result was the same as a child born in the usual way, only the means to the end was different. The media had a field day with this, and since then, reproduction as we know it has changed.

We now use the term “assisted reproduction” to describe a host of methods used to assist infertile couples to have children. A menagerie of large terms, abbreviations, and acronyms are used under the umbrella of this term, such as GIFT, IVF, FSH, AID, etc. The bottom line is that technology has allowed man to take yet another matter into his own hands, that may be considered “playing God”.

As with any new procedure or product, there are always “bugs to work out&

Not much has been done to anticipate the complexities involved with assisted reproduction. In 1975, a federal law was enacted that created an Ethics Advisory Board

Some common words found in the essay are:
Junior Davis, Society Reproductive, FSH AID, Jonsen R1996, Frozen Embryos, Board EABCaplan, Reproductive Medicine, Robert Edwards, Center Report283, Press Klotzko, woman’s body, caplan 1990, frozen embryos, society reproductive medicine, personal matters, klotzko 1998, “children vitro”, ethical issues, reproductive medicine, american society reproductive, wish parent, jonsen 1996,
Approximate Word count = 1983
Approximate Pages = 8 (250 words per page double spaced)