Happy Birthday, Louise Brown!

Sperm and EggToday marks the birthday of Louise Brown, the world’s first “test-tube baby.” Her birth in 1978 heralded a new era of fertility services for many women, including lesbians. Helen and I conceived our own son this way, using my egg and her womb, so we bear a personal debt to Ms. Brown, her parents Lesley and John Brown, and their doctors, Patrick Steptoe and Robert Edwards. Thanks! You’ve helped create many happy families.

2 thoughts on “Happy Birthday, Louise Brown!”

  1. I’m all for test tube babies, but it must be weird to grow up and know that’s how you were conceived. I’d feel like a SciFi character if I knew that.

  2. You know, I think 30 years ago it was. These days, I think it’s not so uncommon, both with lesbian and straight couples. The key, I think, is being honest with your kids once they start being curious, so that it’s not a big shock. Ultimately, the way you raise them means more than the way you conceived them, IMHO.

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