ABSTRACT
The British Medical Association (BMA) had taken over its new library from the builders on 17 July 1985, but it had not been 'officially opened' and a decision had to be made as to who would do it. Following discreet inquiries it was agreed the Princess of Wales would honour people by opening it on 20 February 1986. This chapter describes the BMA's Central Ethical Committee's view as 'a very narrow one that risked bringing advances in vitro fertilisation to a halt'. It explains that improvements in technique meant that pregnancies had already been achieved by freezing fertilised ova at an early stage in their development with their later implantation into their own mother's womb. The Commonwealth Medical Association was established in 1962 at a time when an increasing number of Commonwealth countries were gaining their independence and overseas branches of the British Medical Association were being replaced by national medical associations.
