PANDORA'S BABY: How the First Test Tube Babies Sparked the Reproductive Revolution.

ROBIN MARANTZ HENIG 

This past July, Louise Brown marked her 25th birthday. Not only did Brown's birth mark a major milestone, but so did her conception, as she was the world's first test-tube baby. At the time, opponents of the technology argued that in vitro fertilization (IVF) would take us on a slippery slope to more dangerous manipulations of human beings, with ever-graver moral implications. In fact, some people say that those fears are being realized today in the laboratories where scientists are experimenting with cloning. Henig traces the history of IVF from renegade idea to commonplace procedure and compares it to the cloning debates that are in full swing today. She reports that there have been more than 1 million births from IVF since Brown was born. However, IVF has its downsides. Test-tube babies are twice as likely as naturally conceived babies to have multiple major birth defects and are more likely to be underweight at birth. Henig explores the story from all angles, including that of infertile couples and physicians who originally pursued IVF. Part of the controversy surrounding the procedure, the author points out, has always been the federal government's reluctance to fund IVF research and thus have the authority to regulate it. HM, 2004, 326 p., hardcover, $25.00.