American Experience

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Ethical Questions

Medical technologies like in vitro fertilization (IVF) raise as many questions as they answer. Read comments by Arthur Caplan, the Emmanuel and Robert Hart Professor of Bioethics and the director of the Center for Bioethics at the University of Pennsylvania, and Robert George, the McCormick Professor of Jurisprudence and the director of the James Madison Program in American Ideals and Institutions at Princeton University.

Topics
The Impact of the First Test Tube Baby
Fears About Misuse of Technology
Concerns About IVF Babies’ Long-Term Health
Other Potential Problems With IVF
In Vitro Fertilization and Today’s Stem Cell Debate
Acceptance of IVF and Ongoing Debates

People
Doris and John Del-Zio
Landrum Shettles
Robert Edwards
Howard and Georgeanna Jones
Judy and Roger Carr, America’s First Test Tube Parents

Events
The First Human Eggs Fertilized in a Laboratory
The Publication of Ovum Humanum
The First U.S. Test Tube Baby Attempt
Columbia-Presbyterian Hospital and In Vitro Fertilization
The Del-Zios’ Lawsuit
The World’s First Test Tube Baby is Born
America’s First Test Tube Baby
Government Funding of In Vitro Fertilization
The Pros and Cons of In Vitro Fertilization
The Test Tube Baby Reunions
In Vitro Fertilization Today