Transcript
TEXT ON SCREEN: JULY 1978
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NEWS REPORT: For the first time in history, a human being conceived in a laboratory has been delivered successfully.
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NEWS REPORT: The world’s first test-tube baby was born here in Britain last night.
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NEWS REPORT: It is a girl, in excellent health. A beautiful, normal baby, the doctors said.
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NEWS REPORT: The doctors hope that someday soon she will be just one of many so-called test-tube babies.
LOUISE BROWN: My name is Louise and I’m the world’s first test-tube baby. I’m forty this year, so it’s been forty years of I.V.F.
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NEWS REPORT: For the moment at least, the best-known mother and daughter in the world.
LOUISE BROWN: It was madness, just the fuss and media presence. My mum couldn’t walk down the street with the pram, I’d say, probably the first couple of months. We went around the world when I was months old. We went to Japan. We did a tour of America. We were gone for months at a time. It really stopped when I was about 4 because mum wanted me to have a normal childhood, go to school like everybody else my age.
TEXT ON SCREEN: AS A CHILD, LOUISE BROWN STAYED OUT OF THE SPOTLIGHT…EXCEPT ON HER BIRTHDAYS.
LOUISE BROWN: Nowadays, I work nine to five, Monday to Friday. I have two children, a husband. I.V.F. is in me and part of me and since I’ve been older, I choose to sort of go around and show people that I’m normal and healthy.
LOUISE BROWN: I love meeting people from the world of I.V.F.
TEXT ON SCREEN: TODAY, LOUISE BROWN BALANCES HER REGULAR LIFE WITH HER LIFE AS AN UNOFFICIAL AMBASSADOR FOR I.V.F.
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ANNOUNCER (TRANSLATED FROM FRENCH): It’s with great pleasure that we welcome, on the occasion of her 40th birthday, Ms. Louise Brown.
TEXT ON SCREEN: SHE IS CELEBRATED AROUND THE WORLD AS A SYMBOL OF THE AMAZING POTENTIAL OF REPRODUCTIVE MEDICINE.
LOUISE BROWN: People come up and say to me, oh, thank you, thank you, and I’m like, I didn’t do anything. I was just born. But I sort of accept it on my mum’s behalf. What she went through and the hope she gave people was just fantastic, and I think she deserves everything.
TEXT ON SCREEN: FORTY YEARS AFTER LOUISE BROWN’S BIRTH, MORE THAN SIX MILLION BABIES HAVE BEEN BORN THROUGH I.V.F.
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Life as the World’s First Test Tube Baby
On July 25, 1978, Louise Brown became the first ever so-called “test-tube baby.” Her birth was one of the biggest media stories of the 20th century, and she became famous just by being born.
On July 25, 1978, Louise Brown became the first ever so-called “test-tube baby,” the first human being ever to be conceived outside of the womb. Her birth was one of the biggest media stories of the 20th century, and she became famous just by being born.
Today, I.V.F. is a common practice in most developed nations, but Brown’s birth was extremely controversial. It sparked a heated ethical debate about the ramifications of creating human life in a laboratory, but it also offered hope to millions of infertile women around the world. Today, more than 6 million people have been born through I.V.F., and Brown still generates headlines, drawing audiences across the globe. In this Retro Report, she reflects on how her exceptional beginning has helped to shape an otherwise very normal life.
- Producer: Miriam Weintraub
- Producer: Jennifer Oko
