Fear, Wonder, and Science in the New Age of Reproductive Biotechnology

Scott F. Gilbert is a professor of biology at Swarthmore College and the University of Helsinki and is the author of several textbooks. Clara Pinto-Correia is a developmental biologist, well-read novelist, and historian of science.

Scott Gilbert and Clara Pinto-Correia come to readers as whole persons in this unusual and much-needed book... Each part of this rich tapestry of stories is woven in an acute consciousness of complex social, personal, and technical histories. Each part requires-as well as nurtures-emotional, intellectual, and sociohistorical intelligence. -- from the foreword by Donna Haraway Impressive in its breadth, Fear, Wonder, and Science in the New Age of Reproductive Biotechnology contains case studies, historical narratives, and ethical conundrums showcasing the advances in our understanding of the basic science of human fertilization and development. Correcting misconceptions that have permeated the mainstream infertility literature, Gilbert and Pinto-Correia write the kind of lucid explanations of these complex technological feats that have probably never reached this readership but should have a long time ago. -- Katayoun Chamany, New School University Every book on science and its social uses should be like this one. But Fear, Wonder, and Science in the New Age of Reproductive Technology is probably an unrepeatable marvel. To bring it to pass, a scientist with philosophical inclinations and literary flair has joined up with a novelist with scientific training and a moving and culturally resonant personal story. They have created what may be the most accessible source to date for how humans are made, how the process can be manipulated technologically, and how benign impulses can go awry in the face of biological and social complexities. -- Stuart Newman, New York Medical College This pathbreaking book is a milestone, giving us a new way of understanding human fertility, reproduction and childbirth. Scott Gilbert and Clara Pinto-Correia's contrasting yet complementary perspectives will educate, enliven, delight and inform any reader. The insights presented here will enable us to question, break, and move beyond the reigning contemporary paradigms of disempowerment, and find the true empowerment that both men and women so sorely need. -- Steven Borish, California State University - East Bay

• Foreword: Making Babies, Making Kin, by Donna HarawayPrefaceAcknowledgmentsPart I. The Importance of the Story1. Conceptual Detox: Returning to Hogwarts to Learn Human Embryology, by Scott Gilbert2. Stories of Infertility and Its Conquest: The Sisterhood of Bloody Mary, by Clara Pinto-CorreiaPart II. Fertilization and Its Discontents3. Fertilization: Two Cells At The Verge of Death Cooperate to Form a New Body That Lasts Decades, by Scott Gilbert4. Fertility Rites: Artificial Insemination and In Vitro Fertilization—Their Hopes and Their Fears, by Clara Pinto-CorreiaPart III. The Mother and Her Fetus 5. Normal Development and The Beginning of Human Life: Why Scientists Are Being Asked Theological Questions and Why Theologians Are Being Asked Scientific Questions, by Scott Gilbert6. Technological Motherhood, by Clara Pinto-CorreiaPart IV. Improving The Human Condition Through Biology: The Reality and the Fantasy7. Cloning Animals, Cells, and Genes: Where Did Cloning Come From, and Where Is It Going to Right Now?, by Scott Gilbert8. Glory Days: My Personal Account of Cloning, by Clara Pinto-CorreiaPart V. Epilogues9. Infertility Wars: How Life Feels After Everything Fails, and, By the Way, How Do We Survive It?, by Clara Pinto-Correia10. The Human Condition of Fear and Wonder: In Celebration of Bodies, by Scott GilbertAppendix: A Field Guide to Assisted Reproductive TechnologiesGlossaryNotesReferencesIndex