IVF and Assisted Reproduction

Sarah Ferber is Professor of History at the University of Wollongong, Australia. Her books include: Bioethics in Historical Perspective (2013), and the co-edited The Reproductive Industry: Intimate Experiences and Global Processes (2019), and The Body Divided: Human Beings and Human ‘Material’ in Modern Medical History (2011).   Nicola J. Marks is Senior Lecturer at the University of Wollongong. She researches the social dimensions of science and medicine, including stem cell research and IVF, and is co-editor of The Reproductive Industry: Intimate Experiences and Global Processes (2019). Vera Mackie is Senior Professor of Asian and International Studies at the University of Wollongong. She is co-author of Remembering Women’s Activism (2019), co-editor of The Reproductive Industry: Intimate Experiences and Global Processes (2019), and The Social Sciences in the Asian Century (2015).

• 1. IVF and Assisted Reproduction: Global Visions, Local Stories.- 2. Towards the Two 1978 Births.- 3. The Foundations of Global Assisted Reproduction.- 4. Regulation and Risk.- 5. Oocytes, Surrogacy and Cross-Border Reproduction.- 6. Testing Boundaries, Finding Limits.- 7. Thresholds of the Future: New Directions in Assisted Reproduction.

“Both books achieve their aims well. … these two books serve well in providing insight into AR practice world-wide … . Both books offer much of interest and value to those with an interest in this domain: AR practitioners, regulators and policy makers, students and researchers, and general readers seeking to understand the growth, complexity, and impact of the world-wide AR industry.” (Ian Smith, Australian Journal of Asian Law, Vol. 23 (2), 2022)“It is this emphasis on the social, cultural and political – as well as the medical and scientific– that sets this book apart from standard medical histories. … This will be an indispensable reference work for historians of AR, as it maps out the research, clinical, regulatory and societal paths – including dead ends – towards the point we are at now and poses important questions for how we can understand the opportunities and risks AR poses into the future.” (Sianan Healy, History Australia, Vol. 19 (1), 2022)“Each of the seven chapters has a rich section of references and notes that are very much worth looking at in detail. ... The book can be of interest to a wide audience. ... information useful to those who are new to the field of reproduction studies and also to those more established. ... Here the reader will find an extensive list of scholarly literature … . It also works as a case study book.” (Sandra Patricia Gonzalez Santos, Reproductive Biomedicine & Society Online, Vol. 14, March, 2022)“IVF and Assisted Reproduction: A Global History manages to give voice to the complexity and depth of its subject area while also providing a sense of the global and national contexts … . Ferber, Marks and Mackie have provided an impressive overview of the history of IVF and assisted reproduction that is readable and empirically detailed. Their book provides the reader with a broad familiarity with the multiple global forces that have driven the continual development of these technologies.” (Erica Millar, Australian Historical Studies, January 24, 2022)“Commanding an enormous literature in a relatively short book, they give a sober-minded and clearly written overview of the techno-scientific, medical, political, cultural, and economic history … . the book’s clear and balanced exposition, divided with helpful section headers, makes it a pleasant and engaging read. It should be especially useful to historians of technology who are unfamiliar with IVF or its global context, and could work well in conjunction with narrative history/anthropology or primary sources for undergraduate instruction.” (Lara Freidenfelds, Technology and Culture, Vol. 63 (1), January, 2022)“The book is well structured, informative, blending local analysis with local storytelling. … As a scholar with an interest in AR, I enjoyed reading the book. I have learned new facts … . As a result of this reading, my understanding of AR’s history is now grounded on more data and well-rounded … . The book can be an assigned reading to teach advanced undergraduate seminars or graduate classes on AR’s social and political aspects … .” (Andrea Boggio, Monash Bioethics Review, Vol. 39, 2021)