In vitro fertilisation
Louise Brown is born in 1978, and conception moves outside the body.
- When
- Era
- Contemporary, Holocene
Steptoe and Edwards achieve the first birth from in vitro fertilisation in July 1978 after years of failure and considerable public hostility. Over twelve million people have since been born through IVF. It also opened questions that are still live — embryo status, genetic screening, donor anonymity, and who is entitled to treatment — and it made the embryo an object that can be examined and selected.