How does one make decisions today about in vitro fertilization, abortion, egg freezing, surrogacy, and other matters of reproduction? This book provides the intellectual and emotional intelligence to help individuals make informed choices amid misinformation and competing claims. Scott Gilbert and Clara Pinto-Correia speak to the couple trying to become pregnant, the woman contemplating an abortion, and the student searching for sound information about human sex and reproduction. Their book is an enlightening read for men as well as for women, describing in clear terms how babies come into existence through both natural and assisted reproductive pathways. They update "the talk" for the twenty-first century: the birds, the bees, and the Petri dishes. Fear, Wonder, and Science in the New Age of Reproductive Biotechnology first covers the most recent and well-grounded scientific conclusions about fertilization and early human embryology. It then discusses the reasons why some of the major forms of assisted reproductive technologies were invented, how they are used, and what they can and cannot accomplish. Most important, the authors explore the emotional side of using these technologies, focusing on those who have emptied their emotions and bank accounts in a valiant effort to conceive a child. This work of science and human biology is informed by a moral concern for our common humanity.

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