Library Journal
With so much information available about reproductive technology, we may question the need for two more books on this topic; however, this rapidly changing field and the tremendous number of ethical issues surrounding it make continuous updating necessary. Both of these books provide good, though brief, overviews of recent advancements and issues related to reproductive technology, including in vitro fertilization, surrogacy, artificial wombs, male pregnancy, and cloning. Andrews, a professor at Chicago-Kent Coll. of the Law and director of the Institute for Science, Law, and Technology, Illinois Institute of Technology, is a recognized legal expert on these difficult issues and has served as an adviser to the U.S. National Bioethics Advisory Commission. Her book provides numerous cases that illustrate the social, ethical, and political implications of this fast-moving, minimally regulated industry. It is difficult to find a truly balanced account of these controversial issues in any one book, and these books are no different. Andrews concentrates on the legal and social aspects, while Gosden (reproductive biology, Univ. of Leeds) provides a medical researcher's viewpoint. While both authors write in an informal lay style, the glossary and list of suggested readings in the Gosden book are a helpful addition for readers who are new to the field. High school and college students will find the Andrews book particularly useful for "hot topics" papers. Both books are recommended for public or undergraduate collections.--Tina Neville, Univ. of South Florida at St. Petersburg Lib. Copyright 1999 Cahners Business Information.
Kirkus Reviews
A disturbing but insightful look at the brave new reproductive world that is dawning. Anyone assuming civilization isn't poised at an important crossroads will think otherwise after reading this book. Andrews (Black Power, White Blood, 1996), director of the Institute for Science, Law, and Technology at the Illinois Institute of Technology, has been involved in just about every legal and ethical debate surrounding the murky, evolving world of reproductive technology since the first test tube baby was born—on the day Andrews passed her bar exam, by the way—and she knows it's complicated territory. She offers insights on cloning, in vitro fertilization, selling sperm and eggs, and selective genetics, in which parents can decide which babies to carry full-term. At one point Andrews poses as a woman interested in choosing sperm from a Nobel-winning scientist via Robert Klark Graham's Repository for Germinal Choice. Graham believes that a putative general decline in intelligence could be stemmed if the "more able" simply had more babies. Minor glitch: Andrews is single, and Graham's services are limited to married women. "I need your legal skills," he tells her. "Come up with a rule where I can give sperm to you, but not have to give it to an unmarried black woman." In the same chapter Andrews notes the lack of public health regulations stipulating how sperm must be stored. Remarks one California lawyer about Graham's operation: "If I wanted to open a sperm bank in the deli next to the pastrami, there would be nothing to stop me." This scary scenario only grows more plausible as Andrews demonstrates that reproductive law and funding are governed more by political expediencythan rational thought. Remarkably free of techno-jargon, this fascinating premillennium primer cautions readers about the many legal and ethical potholes awaiting those who venture into such uncharted territory.
