July 25 marked the 25th birthday of "test-tube baby"
Louise Brown -- the English woman who was the first baby born after
being conceived through in vitro fertilization. In vitro
fertilization (IVF), a process in which an embryo is created
outside a woman's body and then implanted in her uterus, is a
relatively common procedure today among couples who have difficulty
conceiving. Although couples using IVF still have only about a one
in four chance of conceiving a child, more than 1 million such
babies have been born worldwide over the past 25 years.
But IVF created much controversy in 1978, for both ideological
and health reasons. Similar to some people's views about human
cloning today, many felt that the IVF process was "unnatural."
There was also debate in the health community as to whether a
normal baby could be produced using IVF, because of the cell
manipulation that occurs during the process.
In August 1978*, immediately after Brown's birth, Gallup asked
Americans a series of questions about their views on IVF. Results
indicate that, despite some vocal opposition to IVF and the media
frenzy over Brown, public reaction to the decision her parents made
was mostly favorable.
Awareness and Favorability of IVF
In the 1978 survey, Gallup asked Americans if they had "heard or
read about the baby born in England from an egg fertilized outside
her mother's body." The response reflects the extensive media
coverage this event received at the time; the vast majority of
Americans (93%) were aware of the story, and most were able to
describe the IVF process in their own words with relative
accuracy.
Respondents were then asked if they opposed the procedure
because it was "not natural," or whether they favored it because it
would make having a child possible for couples who would be
otherwise unable to have one. Sixty percent of Americans said they
favored IVF, while less than a third (28%) opposed it.
Willingness to Undergo IVF
It is one thing to be generally in favor of a health procedure
such as IVF, but quite another to be willing to try that procedure
yourself. However, in August 1978, just days after the first
"test-tube" baby was born, 53% of Americans said they would be
willing to undergo IVF if they wanted a child and were unable to
have one otherwise. Thirty-six percent said they would not have the
procedure and 11% said they didn't know.
Bottom Line
In a July 28, 1978, Washington Post article, National
Conference of Catholic Bishops then-general secretary Rev. Thomas
C. Kelly commented about the IVF controversy, "The fact that
science now has the ability to alter this [process] does not mean
that, morally speaking, it has the right to do so."
While some Americans may have shared Thomas' opinion about IVF
at that time, most did not. Not only did a majority of Americans
favor the use of IVF in 1978, but a slight majority even said that
they would use it themselves under the right circumstances.
*Results are based on telephone interviews with 2,684
national adults, aged 18 and older, conducted Aug. 4-7, 1978. For
results based on the total sample of national adults, one can say
with 95% confidence that the margin of sampling error is ±2
percentage points.
