On July 25, 1978, the work of Robert Edwards and Patrick Steptoe led to the birth of the first "test-tube baby," Louise Brown, in England. Since then, thousands of babies throughout the world have been born with the help of assisted reproduction technologies (ARTs). ARTs such as artificial insemination have been in use since the nineteenth century and, as with the technology that helped bring Louise Brown into existence, they still raise ethical concerns. Although ARTs are a common therapy to treat infertility, such treatments continue to provoke questions about safety and efficacy. Many of the ethical issues that appeared with the advent of these technologies continue to be relevant in the early twenty-first century.

Technologies

ARTs refer to a group of procedures, often used in combination, that are designed to establish a viable pregnancy for individuals diagnosed with infertility. The degree of sophistication of these...