Baby steps

When Robert Edwards was at Cambridge University,a childless couple next door often visited his young family and peeked at their pram. I couldnt but be aware of the feelings aroused in them. The trees bore fruit,the clouds carried rain,and our friends,for ever childless,played with our Caroline,our Jennifer.

Thirty-two years after Edwards research,in collaboration with fellow-scientist Patrick Steptoe,produced the worlds first test-tube baby,the entire reproductive revolution enabled by in-vitro fertilisation has been given its due. Robert Edwards has been given the Nobel prize for medicine for his pioneering work. Initially,the project faced a wall of resistance to many,it seemed horrid and dehumanising that an egg could be fertilised outside the mothers snug womb,in a petri dish. IVF was one of the first major struggles of the emerging field of bio-ethics. Many radical scientific advances have been marked by this tussle,the drive to know and the conservative desire to limit such progress. IVF regulation was an expectedly fraught affair in most countries,and while governments initially shied away from research funding,scientists,doctors and those eager to be parents kept up the pressure. Technology and commerce came together to expand possibilities for infertile people around the world. Artificial fertilisation is still repugnant to many religious groups the Vatican has protested the Nobel committees decision to honour Edwards.

But,by now,that once daring idea has become mundane and naturalised,and nearly four million babies have been brought into the world through IVF intervention. While there are studies that indicate chances of higher birth defects among these babies,the science is still inconclusive on the risks. The real worry is the fact that doctors usually transfer more than one embryo into the womb,hoping at least one will take which creates its own dangers like stillbirth,developmental delays or cerebral palsy. But those niggling doubts pale in comparison to the tremendous gift that this technology has been,given that the vast majority of IVF children are perfectly normal. It has enabled infertile men and women,those with ageing eggs,and gay and lesbian couples to experience parenthood. This Nobel,more than anything,affirms life.