Baby-Making

by Bart C. Fauser

In the developed world, the fertility treatments available to couples in the 21st century are wider than ever before. Most types of infertility can be addressed by modern 'test-tube' methods, yet reproduction itself has become inextricably bound with social and political trends, such as declining birth rates, delayed first pregnancy, childbirth beyond the age of 40, and the state funding of infertility treatment. It is a topic high, high on the agenda of politicians in their efforts to reverse declining national fertility rates, and of intensive interest to more and more couples. Assisted...