Grandchildren in a Glass?

I couldn’t help but follow up on this headline: The End of Sex? on the Stanford School of Medicine blog.  “What?” I thought.  

The blog introduces the concept that sex won’t be necessary for making babies in the future. It profiles a scientist who suggests that as soon as 50 years from now, the majority of baby-making could be done via In Vitro Fertilization (IVF). Drag for the couples who enjoy the baby-making, I initially thought. I was relieved to read that the pleasures of sex weren’t being abandoned, but enjoying it as a path to a baby might be.

Developments in fertility medicine in my lifetime have been amazing. I remember the birth of Louise Brown, the world’s first “test tube baby” produced via IVF. It was huge international news. Now babies conceived through IVF are born every day. And it’s not just IVF that has become readily available (if you have the money). There are all kinds of options, from donor insemination to surrogacy.   

Age is a factor in fertility, but not necessarily an insurmountable one. Women in the course of perimenopause or even post menopause can carry babies to term with fertility procedures. It’s not always medically achievable, but it works for some.   

IVF is already considered standard procedure in some circles- will it become standard practice for all? Will my grandchildren be conceived in a glass? I have to think about that.  

-  Janet

Photo: digitalart / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

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