The Clone Age : Adventures in the New World of Reproductive Technology

by Lori Andrews

Lori Andrews passed her bar exam the day the first test-tube baby was born. Since that time she has become the world's most visible expert on the legal and ethical implications of reproductive technology, sought after to assess the rights of cryonically susped severed heads, the legal entanglements of surrogate motherhood, and the ethics of creating babies from dead men's sperm. She has been an advisor on genetic and reproductive technology to the president and Congress, the World Health Organization, the FBI, and such oddly interested parties as the emirate of Dubai. In this provocative memoir, she relates her experiences, unmasking the bizarre motives and methods of a new breed of scientist, bringing to life the wrenching issues we all face as venture capital floods medical research, technology races ahead of legal and ethical ground rules, and ordinary people struggle to maintain both human dignity and their own emotional balance.

Genres: Nonfiction, Science

288 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1999

About the author

Lori Andrews is a law professor, a public interest lawyer and mystery novelist. She’s taught at Princeton, written for a television legal drama, and advised governments around the world about emerging technologies. Her mystery IMMUNITY (released as an ebook April 28, 2020) involves a pandemic during a presidential election. www.immunityanovel.com

Lori started her consumer activism when she was seven and her Ken doll went bald. Her letter to Mattel got action. She’s been fighting for people’s rights ever since.

A professor of law at Chicago-Kent College of Law, Lori frequently appears on television, including on Oprah, 60 Minutes, Good Morning America, and Nightline. The American Bar Association Journal calls her “a lawyer with a literary bent who has the scientific chops to rival any CSI investigator.”

Reviews

[Beth · Rating 5 out of 5]

i bought this book something like 8 or 9 years ago. i was milling about the section in between the restrooms and cafe at the half price books on northwest hwy and decided i should read some non-fiction. not much thought went into the selection.

i think i read a couple of pages and then there it sat. for 8 or 9 years minus a week. then, i decided i really should make an attempt to purge some of the frivolous belongings from my rat pile and thought the least i could do before sending this back to half price for a 15 cent return price would be to read it, seeing as how i've taken up that habit again.

well, holy cow. just about every page of this book read like a soap opera script. i was horrified to learn just how seedy and unseemly the world of IVF and cloning and all that other genetic mess is. not only because of the amazing ethical situations that can and do arise from the tinkering around with the building blocks of human life, but the questionable (not even questionable, completely unbelievable) acts committed by those with whom childless couples have placed their hopes. not to mention the deplorable ethics of many parents as well. i had no idea AT ALL.

i never thought i would say this, but i totally recommend this book. i hate not knowing what's developed in the 10 years since that edition came out.

[Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very well written and easy to read. It is the lawyer's take on the legality of in vitro fertilization, cloning, surrogate mother's, egg and sperm donors, etc. Scary what doctor's did in the early days of in vitro (wonder if it is still happening?) Interesting read that will have you shaking your head in disbelief. By the way, found this book from the bibliography in the back of Michael Crighton's book Next. Definitely worth reading!

[Careshmeh · Rating 5 out of 5]

WHOA!!!! That should be all I say about this book but truly I can't say enough!! This is like a good conspiracy book but all the stories are true. For those of you who want to remain in a blissful ignorant state this is not the book for you. If you want to have to worry about where your sperm donation went to and how it was used you might want to pick this up!

[Stacy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating read, especially the chapters on contemporary reproductive technology and the insights into behind-the-scenes aspects of industry regulations (hint: there's not as much as you might expect).

[Vivian Lai · Rating 2 out of 5]

Too much cloning!!!