Pandora's Baby: How the First Test Tube Babies Sparked the Reproductive Revolution

by Robin Marantz Henig

On a September morning in 1973, a hospital administrator in New York City learned of a rogue experiment in progress at his institution, and he ordered the removal from an incubator of a test tube containing a frothy mixture of human eggs and sperm. Had the experiment been allowed to continue, it might have resulted in the first human fetus created through in vitro fertilization. In Pandora’s Baby, the award-winning journalist Robin Marantz Henig tells the story of that confrontation, which ushered in a new era in reproductive technology. She takes us back to the early days of IVF, when the procedure was viewed as crackpot science and its pioneers as outsiders in the medical world. Henig lays out the ethical and political battlefield of the 1970s -- a battlefield that is recreated with each new technology -- and traces the sea change that has occurred in the public perception of “test tube babies.” It is a human story, of men and women grappling with the moral implications of a scientific discovery: researchers, couples yearning for babies, hospital administrators, and bioethicists. Through these people Henig brings to life the argument made most forcefully against IVF in the early days: that it was the first step down the slippery slope toward genetic engineering, designer babies, and human clones. Even though this argument is worrisome and antiprogressive, Henig says, many of its most scary prophecies seem to be coming true.
Pandora’s Baby is a compelling story from the not-so-distant past that brilliantly presents the scientific and ethical dilemmas we confront ever more starkly as germ-line engineering and human cloning become possible.

Genres: Nonfiction, Science

256 pages, Hardcover

First published February 6, 2004

About the author

I'm a long-time science journalist and a contributing writer for The New York Times Magazine. In addition to my most recent book -- Twentysomething: Why Do Young Adults Seem Stuck?, co-authored with my daughter Samantha Henig -- I've written eight others, including Pandora’s Baby: How the First Test Tube Babies Sparked the Reproductive Revolution and The Monk in the Garden: The Lost and Found Genius of Gregor Mendel, a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award (and also, I'm tickled to report, a finalist for the Goodchild Prize for Excellent English from the Queen's English Society). My articles about health and medicine have appeared in The New York Times Magazine, Civilization, Discover, Scientific American, Newsweek, Slate, and just about every woman’s magazine in the grocery store. I am vice president of the National Association of Science Writers, and in 2010 I received a Career Achievement Award from the American Society of Journalists and Authors as well as a Guggenheim Foundation fellowship. I went to Cornell and have a master’s in journalism from Northwestern. I live in Manhattan with my husband Jeff, a political scientist who teaches at Columbia University's Teachers College, and have two grown daughters, Samantha and her older sister Jess Zimmerman.

Reviews

[Ricardo Moreno Mauro · Rating 4 out of 5]

Un libro exceletemente bien escrito, de una manera dinámica y un lenguaje accesible al público que bo es pecialista en la material. Esta es la historia de como se forjó el nacimiento de Louis Brown, la primera "bebé en probeta", y la tecnología de la fecundación in vitro. Las historias personales y trabajo detrás de los actores, principalmente enfocado en la historia de USA.

Muy muy interesante

[Isabel · Rating 2 out of 5]

Interesting but not as concise or in-depth as I had hoped. The book focuses a lot on public apprehension, recalling Prometheus and Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein an exhausting number of times. Wanted to read a more thorough account of the science, but this is definitely a popular glossing over. I learned about the chronology and some legislation but overall this book is a repetitive disappointment.

[Rachelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Definitely informative of the history of in vitro fertilization. As a person born in the 70s, it was never an issue I gave any thought as it would have been quite the common practice when I was a child. Even hearing the term 'in vitro' over the years, I never really questioned what exactly it was, other than some generic reproductive therapy that didn't overly interest me since I've never wanted children of my own. As someone who loves science but isn't a scientist by a long shot, I'm glad there wasn't too much technical detail in the writing which may have turned boring to me. Some parts felt a bit repetitive (eg such a doctor felt this way or that). Overall though I'd recommend this to pretty much anyone with an interest in themes societal, political, medical, ethical, technical, etc.

[Daniel · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a fascinating account of the early history of in vitro fertilization- and the kind of public hysteria that surrounded it- and how that hysteria mirrors the fears of scientific advancement in every age. Henig is especially concerned with how the fear then is linked it to contemporary fears of cloning (which is actually a thing, as it turns out, and not as scary them sci-fi folks would have you believe.) Henig does a great job of keeping this history in a human place- giving us the on the ground perspectives of the scientists and patients involved, their trials and tribulations, both personal and professional.

[Cindy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very interesting but took me over a week to read. Sometimes non-fiction bogs me down. I liked references to Mary Shelley (Frankenstein)Pg. 8 and 104 and the last 2 chapters that dealt with what's going on today with reproductive cloning and therapeutic cloning involving stem cell research.

For many decades our politicians had muddled through these controversial issues by appointing commissions to study them and then not acting upon the suggestions. Then the next administration comes along, appoints a new one and starts the process all over again.

Fun facts:
1970 - 7% physicians and 9% medical school students were women
1990 - 17% women doctors
1999 - 46% women doctors.

[karen Moore · Rating 3 out of 5]

I only made it through the first half of this book - not because it wasn't interesting, but because i just ran out of time before i needed to bring it back to the library.

It's one of the few completely non-fiction books i've spontaneously picked up off the shelf and read. And i actually found it quite fascinating. And a little disturbing at times. It's frightening what what people are willing to do in the name of science and fame.

[Kelli · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book explained the controversial and sometimes-disturbing backgground to what is today a commonplace medical intervention for infertility. The conversations and debates of days gone by seem hard to match with the successes of today in my mind. It was a thought-provoking read, and there were moments when I couldn't put it down.

[Jaya · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very engaging non fiction. You wont feel like putting the book down till you are at last page. You keep wondering what happened to some characters. Its a nice peek into how a taboo became an everyday thing. The hype in the general public about scientists tampering with nature is vividly described. Overall its a nice read.

[Genetic Cuckoo · Rating 4 out of 5]

A consice history of all the major break throughs in IVF and some science background about how each technique works and the ethical arguments for and against it. It is a clever and thought provoking book.

[RUSA CODES · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was one of the 2005 RUSA Notable Books winners. For the complete list, go to http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/rus...

[Skylar · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent.

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not sure why I read it, but I highly reccomend it.