ABSTRACT
Spurred by the general advancement of biomedical research, the spectrum of available assisted reproductive technologies (ART) and embryo related research has considerably broadened during the last three decades. The first in vitro fertilisation (IVF) birth in 1978 in the UK has opened the door for a number of further breakthroughs. The development of preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) in 1990 soon allowed couples with severe hereditary illnesses to select embryos that were not carriers of the defective gene (see Handyside, Kontogianni, Hardy, and Winston 1990) and the first intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) performed by a Belgian team in 1992 has helped overcome severe male infertility without requiring donor sperm. Research on leftover embryos contributed to developing embryonic stem cell research, with the first derivation of human embryonic stem cells (ESCR) in 1998, leading up to the development of therapeutic cloning at the beginning of the new millennium. Technological advances and the wide commercialisation of ART treatments created controversies around the globe (Gaskell and Bauer 2001). Alleged attempts to clone humans, various scandals linked to clinical practice, high medical profiles for post-menopausal mothers, and legal battles regarding the funding of stem cell research, have contributed to ART’s salience in media and politics.
