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01462_Field_169.cap.txt
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1996-03-14
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@
Patrick Steptoe's
work is one of
the marvels of
modern medicine.
To have given
to childless
men and women
the hope of
parenthood is a
fine achievement
by any measure.
But in vitro
fertilization is
an ethical mine-
field, and some
have accused
Steptoe of
playing God
#
Steptoe was a
specialist in
laparoscopy,
which is a way
of investigating
the ovaries and
abdominal cavity.
Steptoe built up
a centre for
laparoscopic
training in
Oldham, England,
where he began
to investigate
problems of
infertility
#
In 1969 Steptoe
announced
sensational news
for childless
couples: it would
soon be possible
to remove a
woman's egg
from her ovary,
fertilise it in a
test-tube with
her partner's
sperm, then
return it to the
uterus to grow
into a baby
#
While early
trials showed
the technical
feasibility of
Steptoe's idea,
some doctors
raised doubts
about the ethics
of "test tube
babies". They
feared that
science was on
the verge of
mass-producing
human beings in
laboratories
#
The work of
Steptoe and
Edwards did have
enormous moral
implications. It
raised the spectre
of "designer
babies", where
future parents
take their pick
from among
fertilised ova,
discarding those
that were not of
the preferred
gender, or
screening out
those with
"abnormalities"
@
The ethical
problems of
Patrick Steptoe's
pioneering work
had still to be
resolved when
events overtook
the debate - in
July 1978, Louise
Brown became
the world's first
test tube baby
#
The expression
'test-tube baby'
was always
misleading. There
was never any
question of
producing children
from laboratory
glassware, and
it sometimes
seemed that
much of the unease
about Patrick
Steptoe's work
was just distaste
at the label given
to it by the
mass media
#
Edwards and
Steptoe accepted
the concern of
those who were
worried about the
implications of
their work, but
their primary
concern remained
for would-be
mothers who
needed help to
conceive. In
1984 they
mounted a
spirited defence
of their treatment,
which had by
then led to the
birth of over
300 babies
#
Few can say that
their work has
given hope to
thousands around
the world. Even
when terminally
ill, Steptoe kept
working. He died
shortly before
he was to be
presented with a
a state award,
the CBE (Com-
mander of the
British Empire)
#
The most powerful
testament to the
achievements of
Edwards and
Steptoe remains
the children they
helped to bring
into the world.
In 1989, a party
was held for
the "test tube
babies". Guests
included Louise
Brown, then aged
10, and the
youngest member
of the 'club',
Andrew Macheta,
five months
@